Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share time with Deputy Seymour Crawford.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this matter. There was rightly a great deal of concern over the past week about the loss of 2,000 jobs at Amgen in Cork. However, this debate relates to a national industry employing 7,000 people, which is worth approximately €450 million to the economy. It is not an option for these producers to relocate to Asia, eastern Europe or elsewhere. These jobs are rooted in our economy and the people involved are crying out for help in a time of crisis. There is a view that the pig market is cyclical and the latest trend is but another cycle. However, the Cathaoirleach will appreciate, as he comes from a rural constituency, that only 500 pig producers remain in the State and many are refusing to service breeding stock because they envisage no future for the industry. Slaughter weights are reducing in abattoirs to 95 kg. These trends indicate a serious crisis in this industry and if action is not taken by the Minister shortly, it will not be around for much longer.

I raised this issue by way of parliamentary question on today's Order Paper and I am appalled and alarmed by the Minister's response. She stated: "I am aware of the issues... I appreciate the argument for pig meat prices but I do not get involved... The issue of labelling is one for the Department of Health and Children... Bord Bia will undertake a promotional campaign to increase consumption." This is a case of Pontius Pilate washing their hands of the issue. If her Department had been more proactive in making Herculex grain available, for example, she could have addressed the issue of access to cheaper feeds earlier. If the national pig herd reduces much further, the industry will face issues relating to survival and economies of scales and other problems.

I would like to make a number of practical proposals. I acknowledge this is not an issue solely for Government because retailers also have a role to play, as they did in the UK regarding the liquid milk market. Tesco realised there was a problem procuring liquid milk to fill its shelves and the company made deals with producers. They asked them to stay in the industry, paid a premium for the milk and, as a consequence, the issue of scarcity of liquid milk was resolved. Fine Gael believes the increasing cost base cannot be carried only by producers and it must be shared by retailers who must pay a reasonable price to primary producers, otherwise the industry will not survive. I refer to the REPS 4 documentation and its references to pig manure as opposed to chemical fertilisers. Surely at a time when we are trying to be more environmentally friendly, we should facilitate the use of pig manure as opposed to obliging farmers to source nitrogen through chemical fertilisers. The Department needs to adopt a proactive approach on this documentation.

The Department could take on these practical proposals. This is a multifaceted problem and needs multiple approaches to resolve it, but a Minister who sits on her hands and says she is aware of the problem and the Department of Health and Children must address the labelling issue is not providing a sufficient response to an industry facing a crisis and job losses.

Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank my colleague for sharing time to debate this vital issue for pig and poultry farmers in Cavan-Monaghan who are among the largest producers in the country. They are a dying breed and they are under severe pressure. They came under major pressure because of the nitrates directive and they were promised issues that arose would be addressed. However, that did not happen and the smaller producers were forced out of business. Those remaining in the industry are crying out for help to make sure clarification is provided on the right of producers to import feeds from wherever they can be obtained and to ensure they are not tied down by regulations that put them at a disadvantage to their competitors. Pig meat and poultry meat is being imported without labels and is being sold as Irish produce. There is no excuse for that. I have raised this issue on many occasions, as has the Cathaoirleach, and it is time action was taken. This is a job for the Government and not an individual Minister so that the livelihoods of producers and workers in this indigenous industry are preserved.

Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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We fully appreciate this is a difficult time for pig producers. The sector has enjoyed a period of relative stability in recent years and Irish producers have shown themselves to be exceptionally efficient with the result that a reasonable income has been achievable from pig farming. There is, however, no doubt that the sector currently faces a major challenge with the risk that some producers may be faced with exiting the industry.

In the past, pig producers have proven to be resilient in riding out the cyclical nature of the pig market whereby extreme fluctuations in price and output volumes were the norm, as recognised by Deputy Creed. In addition to such fluctuations, producers have had to cope with the costs associated with environmental protection and animal welfare, while other factors include the ever-increasing labour and overhead charges. We appreciate the conditions surrounding the availability and pricing of feed materials have changed dramatically over the past six months. The pig industry traditionally required considerable imported consignments of high protein soya as well as wheat, but it is examining importing whole maize because of the price differential with wheat.

Efforts to secure alternative supplies of wheat to compensate for the shortfall caused by poor weather conditions in the major wheat growing regions of the world are hampered by the increased demand from the bio-fuel industry, while the lack of synchronisation in the GM authorisation processes adopted by the United States and the EU is affecting efforts to use whole maize as a substitute for wheat. This asynchronisation has caused United States exporters and EU importers to act with caution in view of the consequences of detecting traces of EU unauthorised GM events in imported consignments. In addition to these factors, the cost of soya has been forced up because of consequential increased demand.

In recognition of these pressures that are coming on animal feed prices, EU member states have agreed to suspend the obligation to set 10% of arable land aside. The European Commission is also examining ways of synchronising the GM authorisation processes between the EU and the United States. Recent statements by the European Food Safety Authority that it is in negotiations with the United States authorities to address this issue are to be welcomed.

The Minister has met pig producers' representatives recently to discuss their difficulties and one of the issues of concern to them is the lack of country of origin labelling on pigmeat and the sale of imported meat under Irish brand names. Draft legislation is with the Department of Health and Children which will require the origin of pig, poultry and sheepmeat to be shown on labels. Public consultation on this proposal is taking place on the website of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland after which it will be necessary to seek the approval of the European Commission. It is highly desirable that there be European-wide legislation on origin labelling of meat and the Minister has conveyed her views on this to the European Commission and my EU ministerial colleagues on numerous occasions.

We have no role in setting the prices that retailers pay or charge for food. There would of necessity be a correlation between the retail prices of the different meats and there would be little scope for significant increases in pork prices in isolation from other meats. Demand for pork both here and in the EU as a whole is in line with normal seasonal patterns. The Minister has asked Bord Bia to intensify its autumn pork and bacon campaign to ensure demand remains firm here in the coming months.

The pig industry is an important element of Irish agriculture and the Government has demonstrated its support for the sector in many ways over the years, including via financial assistance towards farm waste management and welfare-friendly sow housing, overseas promotion drives, negotiation of new market outlets and the development of the pigmeat quality assurance scheme.

The recent trend in prices paid to pig producers is upwards, with an increase of 7% in the recent months. This contrasts with a slippage in the average EU price. It is a matter of great importance that the Irish pig industry remains viable and prosperous into the future and that, at a minimum, current output levels are sustained. This is vital from the point of view of the employment that is depending on indigenous pig production and processing as well as the sector's contribution to net export earnings. Within the EU pigmeat and feed management frameworks, the Minister will continue to bear in mind the needs of the industry and its efforts to overcome current difficulties.