Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise the loss of 130 jobs at Grove Turkeys in Smithboro, County Monaghan. It is devastating for the workers, their families and the local community with all the consequences of unemployment. There is also an impact for 85 farmers on both sides of the Border who are the producers, as well as for the contractors who support those producers. The main problem is the inability to compete with low-cost countries.

The main problem for the poultry industry — a very important industry in my constituency, especially in County Monaghan — is the cost of feed, which has increased by €150 per tonne in recent years. There is increased global demand and much of the land is being used for bio-fuel, although it is important we do not end up in a situation where we have petrol for our cars but no bread. The pig industry also suffers from the high cost of feed and that is also an important industry in my own constituency. We cannot compete with cheap imports coming into the country, especially from Brazil. In recent times, the devaluation of sterling by 12% against the euro has had a major impact. The problems are not confined to Ireland because the number of turkeys killed in the UK have been reduced from 45 million to 15 million in the past ten years. The question is what needs to be done.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Wallace, for coming to the House to take the question. The issue of food labelling rests with her Department. There is no doubt the consumer prefers Irish produce. It is important that when they go to the supermarket they can identify it. There must be labelling so they can identify the country of origin. There are two markets in Ireland for turkeys. There is a seasonal market at Christmas and Easter where people like a fresh turkey. We are well able to compete in this market. However, for the remainder of the year we deal with cheaper commodity poultry and we cannot compete.

I ask the Minister of State to speak to her colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to ensure the workers at Grove Turkeys have every opportunity to find new jobs. I call on the State agencies that have a role to play to do urgently what needs to be done. This includes skills assessments and retraining if necessary. IDA Ireland owns land in Monaghan town and perhaps the time is right to build an advance factory and new office space. The county council economic sub-group should get the support of all the resources in the State that are necessary to ensure new jobs are found for these workers.

There has been substantial investment in Monaghan in recent years, especially in roads. One can now drive from Monaghan town to Dublin without passing through a town or a village. There has also been investment in education, especially DKIT in Dundalk, as well as in buildings in the county such as M-Tek 1 and M-Tek 2. Monaghan was never more attractive for the creation of new industry and I hope there will be work for those who are losing their employment in Grove Turkeys.

Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I regret the announced job losses and hope those affected will find alternative employment. The firm's decision is part of a rationalisation programme to secure the future of the company in the face of market changes and intense competition from overseas producers. This will see the firm move to a seasonal production cycle supplying the peak Easter and Christmas markets, although it will also continue with some added value poultry processing. Talks are in process with the turkey producers involved about the new arrangements.

The developments at this company illustrate the very competitive nature of the poultry sector. However, it has shown exceptional resilience in recent years. It recovered from the consumer concerns centred on avian influenza in 2006 and has managed to absorb the high feed costs evident over the past year. In fact, there was a 3% growth in output in 2007. Competitiveness remains a significant problem, however. The Irish poultry sector is small by international standards, accounting for just over 1% of total EU output. It does not enjoy the economies of scale enjoyed by other EU countries while it is also the case that imports from non-EU countries have also had a significant impact on the market. In the case of turkeys, the relatively seasonal nature of demand has been another constraint on the development of the sector.

The industry has and must remain market oriented. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will continue to take the steps open to her to assist the development of the sector. A number of recent initiatives have been taken and I believe these will be of significant benefit. The poultry expert group was established with the objective of examining the main factors impacting on the viability of the poultry industry. It was asked to draw up relevant action points. The group included representatives of the producers, processors, feed suppliers and relevant State agencies. The final report of the group contains recommendations on matters such as labelling, animal welfare, environmental protection and feedstuffs. That report is under consideration and will be published shortly on the Department's website.

Deputy O'Hanlon spoke of the importance of origin labelling. This is a matter of considerable interest to Irish poultry producers and consumers. The Department, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Children, has drafted national regulations that would require the country of origin to be indicated on poultry, pigmeat and sheepmeat. This legislation was notified to the European Commission which, along with other member states, has until 14 March to comment on the proposed legislation. The Minister, Deputy Coughlan, has written to Commissioner Fischer Boel to reinforce the case for country of origin labelling.

The Bord Bia poultry quality assurance scheme has been instrumental in consolidating the position of Irish poultry on the domestic market and has helped to alleviate concerns and confusion regarding the quality and sourcing of poultry. This year Bord Bia plans to upgrade the chicken quality scheme to the EN45011 standard which will provide further independent endorsement of the quality of Irish poultry. Other measures include a package of financial assistance that was made available in 2006 and 2007 to broiler producers who were forced to cut back on throughput due to the avian influenza scare. In addition, the intensive livestock group established by the Department is examining possible solutions to manure disposal problems.

The Minister, Deputy Coughlan, appreciates fully that the poultry industry will continue to face a very competitive environment. While it may seem little consolation to those affected by these job losses, she is confident that the industry can meet its challenges. Allied to the measures outlined above, I believe that the sector can continue to benefit from its knowledge of the home market and the consumer preference — to some extent at least — for Irish produce.

I thank Deputy O'Hanlon for raising the topic. We will continue to pursue the issues he has stressed, such as origin labelling, as the points he has made are very important as regards the domestic market.