Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he has taken to date to deal with the current crisis in the beef trade, particularly the bull beef trade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13992/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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This is a further question in relation to the collapse of prices in the beef trade, specifically the bull beef trade. I would like the Minister to elaborate further on what immediate actions he has taken to deal with this issue. For example, did he meet the retailers, who I understand he has used as an excuse for our problems in this regard?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Regarding the current difficulties between farmers and processors, the Deputy will appreciate that, ultimately, price and market specification are matters to be determined between purchasers and the sellers of cattle. For obvious reasons it is neither appropriate nor possible for me to intervene directly in setting prices. My Department monitors the kill figures from Irish meat plants and I note that slaughterings of bull beef in the first 11 weeks of 2014, up to 16 March, stood at almost 65,000. That represented an increase of almost 2,000, or 3%, on the figure for the same period last year. In addition, as I outlined, the number of live cattle exported to the end of 9 March was approximately 42,000, up 6% on the figure for last year.

It should be noted that Irish beef prices were 106% of European Union average last year. The average price change in the first ten weeks of this year is a reduction of approximately 1.8%, but it must be remembered that that is a common price that has decreased slightly in the first quarter of the year. Nonetheless, I know and recognise that there is a specific problem in the bull beef sector. Essentially, there is an oversupply of a certain product, which is very much out of spec in terms of what supermarkets are seeking. That is a problem and it has resulted in prices falling well below what farmers would have been expecting to receive for their bull beef.

I have tried to do everything within reason to speak to both the farming organisations and the processing sector. I have ongoing conversations with retailers on a range of issues, including the spec they are seeking. The problem is that if one is producing large animals, bull beef that is 22, 24 and 26 months old, often steaks from these animals are far too big in terms of what retail outlets want. That is the reason retail outlets, particularly those in the United Kingdom, sourcing bull beef are looking for animals aged 16 or 17 months, which in general we are not producing here. We need to learn lessons from this, both at a processing and a farming level, to produce what the market is looking for to make sure we get the maximum price for what we are producing.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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First, the Minister is probably familiar with the Derrypatrick project and the understanding of farmers that processors, Teagasc and everybody else involved in the project were encouraging them to produce 18 month old bull beef because it was not economical to produce it at the age of 16 months. Now we suddenly find the same processors will not buy such beef.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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They are generally not producing 18 month old beef.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The problem is that the factories want 16 month old bull beef. Does the Minister believe the farmers were badly advised? Second, as the Minister is aware, there is a problem in having cattle slaughtered in the North of Ireland.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Minister believes the problem is related to the specifications of retailers. What discussions has he had with them on this issue?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I seek the indulgence of the Chair as I have a third question. I will be brief. There was a live animal exporter with us yesterday and he explained to us that a company that operated ferry sailings from Dublin was refusing to take live cattle from Dublin. However, he has consistently, without difficulty, carried live cattle from Belfast to Britain.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I will let the Deputy in again.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Has the Minister done anything about that matter?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has asked three questions. On whether farmers were advised badly, I have never advocated a significant increase in the production of bull beef in Ireland. On all of the trade missions I have undertaken, particularly in the markets in which we sell beef in Europe, including the United Kingdom, people have been telling me since I became Minister that they want marbled beef, steer cattle primarily and heifers as opposed to bull beef. Many farmers made the economic decision to go down the route of producing bull beef because it suited their systems. They might have less land and may want to keep their animals inside for slightly longer. They will feed them more meal than they would otherwise do if they were grazing them using a grass-based system. This suits some farm structures. The problem is that 20% of our beef is now bull beef and the market is indicating that it wants something different. I still believe it is economically viable to produce bull beef, but if a farmer is producing young bull beef using a predominantly grass-based system, it is impossible to produce, as the Deputy states, 16 month old bull beef. Farmers have to make a choice to either intensively produce bull beef, using high protein meal, or to produce it using a grazing system, supplemented with meal. What needs to happen is a conversation between farmers who want to produce bull beef and the factories they will be supplying to ensure everybody is clear on what will be provided. The farmers who have done this have got a good price for their bull beef animals. The problem has been encountered by farmers who have produced animals without a pre-contract agreement with factories. They bring an animal approximately 22 months old to a factory-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry, Minister, but we are over time.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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-----but there is no market outlet for that animal. Therefore, they are not getting the price that, to be fair, they deserve for what is a good animal. We are trying to resolve that issue. I will come back to the Deputy on the Northern Ireland issue-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, the Minister cannot because we are over time. The six minutes are up. I cannot do anything about it if Members insist on going over time.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I kept to the time limit.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I do not care. I have told Deputies that there are six minutes per question.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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It is the Minister's way to waffle on-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I have asked Members to adhere to the Chair's ruling. There are other Deputies whose questions are never reached as a result. We have now spent 37 minutes on four questions. We are proceeding to Question No. 5.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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All of the time was not lost-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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There are six minutes per question and if the Deputy wants to use his two minutes in that way, I am sorry, but I cannot do anything about it.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister-----

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am trying to give full answers.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Minister has to do it within the time allocated. That is what I am trying to get across to him.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I had a one line question-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Question Time; it is not about making statements.