Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

The current events in the beef industry began as a protest three weeks ago and were originally confined to farmers protesting at AIBP owned plants, which were prevented from sorting cattle on Monday, 23 September. The protest has been extended to the point that five plants, accounting for 20% of the national slaughtering capacity, are disrupted by the dispute. I understand the protest was sparked by a fall in prices following the lifting in the middle of September of the Russian BSE related ban on six counties with a relatively high level of BSE. This ban had been causing logistical problems for the meat plants and farmers expected prices to increase following its removal.

The issue of cattle prices is a matter for direct negotiation between beef producers and beef processors and it would be inappropriate for me or any other Minister to intervene in the current dispute. This area is primarily the responsibility of the Minister for Agriculture and Food. The function of the Government, through the Minister, in relation to cattle prices is to set the policy parameters and support framework and seek by every political and diplomatic initiative to secure access to markets. The Minister is discharging these functions and will continue to do so.