The other issue is the price of beef. We are looking at it the wrong way. The problem is not the price a farmer is receiving for beef, it is the price being charged in the supermarkets and where the difference is going. Surveys and consumers price indices show that there is no relationship between the farm-gate or factory price of beef and the price consumers are paying. Farmers are subject to the surges and spikes of the market but this is not reflected along the way. One of the reasons, which I would like the Minister to clarify, is the Abattoir Act which was passed ten years ago. I bitterly opposed this legislation on the floor of the House. It has had the impact of closing down abattoirs in every small town in Ireland. It means that a farmer cannot have a few sheep killed for his her own use or his neighbour's use. It means that a butcher can no longer raise animals on the land and kill them off the land.