Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, we live in a world market, by which prices are dictated. It is unfortunate that bull beef prices are low. I have marched with the farmers who have protested about this. I am an active beef producer and as such know what I am talking about in the context of beef prices. The problem is the change in the specification in relation to bull beef. We need to focus on who controls the specification, namely, the multiples and the factories. Currently, there are three key players in the beef industry in this country killing cattle. These three major multiples are controlling the market. An Irish factory controls the market, in particular the offal market, in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. This is where our focus needs to be. There are suspicions in relation to the operation of a cartel in this area. The Minister cannot micro-manage that. It is a matter for the Competition Authority to address this issue. That is by whom this matter will, it is hoped, be solved.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has been the most proactive of any Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in terms of agriculture. Currently, beef exports are worth €10 billion. This is because the Minister has promoted beef and secured new markets. The previous Government promoted construction. Agriculture has always been important for this country and is, in the opinion of the Minister, Deputy Coveney, the future of the country. As stated, he has invested €52 million in suckler herds in terms of genomics and discussions groups. He is encouraging young farmers, through the Common Agricultural Policy and the 25% top-ups, to get involved in the industry. Young people are our future. If this matter is not addressed, farmers will not be able to remain involved in the beef industry.

During a meeting yesterday of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, we heard a fantastic presentation from Professor Gerry Boyle of Teagasc. As stated by him in his presentation: "At present, 16 month beef is not viable in this country because we are a grass-based system." Our niche markets are grass-based, quality assured and require traceability. It is not economically possible to produce 16 month beef in this country at the prices currently being paid. According to data from Teagasc, a farmer who produces 16 month old beef would at current prices lose €362 per head. People will not produce that beef if it is not viable to do so.

I acknowledge that people have been misled. I attended many of the meetings at which the factories were encouraging people to produce bull beef because there was a future in it. The specification was then suddenly changed by the factories and the multiples in the UK and they wanted 16 month old beef. I produced bull beef for three years. Luckily enough, I am not producing it this year. I decided not to do so this year because I found it hard last year to get rid of the animals following the change in the specification from 24 months to 20 months and then 18 months. It is now down to 16 months.

Professor Boyle also set out at the committee meeting yesterday the advice of Teagasc in regard to bull beef production, as set out at a Teagasc seminar held in Kilkenny in 2013 and attended by the Minister. Many farmers have adopted an 18 to 20 month finishing system for bulls. However, this system is coming under increasing pressure, with some factories no longer accepting bulls over 16 months. That information was put in the public domain in November 2013. Unfortunately, farmers did not heed the advice. However, I support farmers because I am aware of the pressure they are under in this regard.

As I stated earlier, we export 80% of our agricultural products. Some 53% of our beef goes to the England. That is where our problem arises in terms of the supermarkets' control. I will give an example. The labelling for Irish and British beef is similar, with one label displaying a Union Jack and the other simply stating that the beef is Irish. The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, ICOS, said two weeks ago when it appeared before the committee that cuts of Irish and British beef on the supermarket shelf in Britain are priced the same, even though Irish beef is being discounted when exported to the UK. This relates to a live Irish animal exported to and killed in a UK factory. Sinn Féin needs to engage with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the North, Michelle O'Neill, in relation to what is happening. Northern Ireland has always been a great market for the South, in particular the west of Ireland where Senator Ó Clochartaigh lives, with many travelling South to buy weanlings and bring them back to Northern Ireland to fatten. Specifications are now being laid down in regard to the movement of animals. In other words, to be quality assured an animal must be 70 days old and an animal with an Irish passport-blue card is being discounted in Northern Ireland factories. The Senator needs to speak to the Minister, Michelle O'Neill, about that matter.

The Minister has been doing great work in terms of opening up new markets, including in Libya, Japan and the USA. These markets must be pursued but the Minister needs the support of An Bord Bia and the factories to do so. If the Minister secures agreement in relation to the opening up of a market, this must be followed up by the factories and so on. The Minister cannot dictate whether 10,000 or 50,000 tonnes of beef should be purchased. This must be done by the factories. The only other avenue open to us in this regard is live exports. If the factories in this country are not prepared to pay a fair price and continue to give the wrong advice to farmers in relation to bull beef, live exports is not the answer. There has always been live export of cattle from Waterford and so on. Stena Line has consistently refused to carry livestock on the routes from Rosslare to Fishguard and from Dublin to Holyhead. This is one area in which the Minister could intervene. P&O sold its business to Celtic Link, which had a larger ship that could cater for 20 units of live cattle exports on three sailings per week.

Celtic Link Ferries was subsequently sold to Stena Line, which refuses to carry livestock via the shortest route out of Holyhead. The Rosslare route has been reopened but it costs €900 to bring a 16 ft. truck to Fishguard, whereas the cost of bringing cattle through Larne is €350. That is a difference of €550 on two routes operated by the same company. Moreover, having to go through Larne means animals are on a truck for an additional ten hours as they are transited to their destination elsewhere in Britain.

A problem underlying all of this is that Irish regulations in regard to the export of livestock are the most stringent in the EU. This is an issue the Minister must review. Some companies are refusing to send ships here because the regulations are so strict. Senator Healy Eames observed that following depressed prices for sheep in recent months, suddenly there is a scarcity and sheepmeat is now being sold at record prices. It is all about supply and demand. We must have people being proactive and working together - farmers, factories, retailers and the Minister. Traceability and quality is where our future lies and is what will allow the Minister to say with confidence that we have the finest beef in the world. We must work together to achieve that. The Opposition should refrain from bringing opportunistic motions before the House to try to embarrass the Government.