Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Senator's comments but it is also appropriate to reflect on my opening paragraph where I say it is not really the responsibility of the Minister to get involved in the detailed commercial arrangements that exist between a dairy farmer and his processor, a beef farmer and his beef processing plant or indeed in this instance between a grower and a processor in the poultry sector. It would be of concern to me if I felt somebody was being victimised. There are many avenues that may lead to a resolution of this. I am sure there is hardly a county in the country that does not have a story about some farmer in some enterprise who has a difficulty with his processing outlet. If the Department was to become engaged in trying to find a resolution to each of those individual problems it would be overwhelmed. In many respects even the Competition Authority has made it abundantly clear to us that we have no role to play, for example, with regard to the arrangements that exist between farmers who are constantly in difficulties with the meat processing plants. We are told strictly that is not a function for us. I do not have the detail of the case the Senator alludes to. I have read the media comments on it etc. and, as I said in my response, I would be concerned if I felt that a grower in the poultry industry was being victimised solely on the grounds of raising an issue which the Senator has alluded to. I would like to think that this issue could be resolved. I am not saying that is a role I or the Department can play but there are many people out there, stakeholders and representative bodies, who may feel, as the Senator strongly does, that this is a case of large versus small and I am aware that in terms of the poultry industry, there are not many outlets where one can go if one has a falling out with a major processor. I would like to think that this issue could be resolved but I am of the opinion that it is not an area where the Department or I can usefully play a role.