Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, for the reply on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The Minister of State mentioned that live exports are down this year, which is not a good development, and he predicts that they will be up next year. One must bear in mind that over 50% of the live exports from this country are female dairy exports which does not help the beef sector, for example, the steers, because that is what one needs to get out. I encourage the Minister and other Departments, for example, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to continue liaising with the countries, such as Turkey and Libya, so that we can try to export live cattle because it is important that there is competition in the market.

The Minister of State said that mergers go through the relevant bodies, such as the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and also the European Commission, but it is important that the Minister shows a lead here because he represents the primary producer. He is not here to represent the meat factories or those involved in the meat industry. He is here to represent over 140,000 farmers, 100,000 of whom are involved in beef production. It is important that whoever is the Minister in the next Government, whether it is the Minister, Deputy Coveney, or someone else, makes a submission to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and to the Commission. If there is the weight of a Minister behind one, it adds credence to the worries of people. It is important no matter what. Regardless of whether the Minister thinks he can, it is important that he does so because the weight of a Minister on such a submission will help to ensure that the farmers of this country are not be ripped off by somebody getting a dominant share in the market.

Before I conclude, I forgot to welcome Mr. John Bambrick, who is chairman of Kilkenny IFA.I thank him for coming to the House to take this debate. He is a former neighbour of mine. We used to live on the same road until he got a bit richer and moved on. He is very welcome.