Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the proposal of Senator Humphreys to amend the Order of Business.

I raise an issue that I have raised on many occasions. It is a topic we try to avoid as much as possible because it is becoming such a nightmare. I refer to Brexit and its effect on the beef sector. Fianna Fáil moved a Private Members' motion in the Dáil last week which was accepted by the Government. Will the Leader bring the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the House immediately to inform us as a matter of urgency what action he intends to take on foot of the motion and off his own bat to help the sector? According to figures released this morning, the beef sector is haemorrhaging €3.7 million a week, given the prices being received today by comparison with those received in 2015, prior to the referendum on Brexit. We hear commentary on a hard or a soft Brexit, the dates for which seem to be ever-moving, but the fact is that for the beef sector, Brexit has happened and it has been a hard one. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. We need immediate Brexit mitigation funding. There is no need for the Minister to come here to tell us again that he has been talking to the European Commission and that there will be funding in place, if and when Brexit is triggered. It has happened for the beef sector and many others, too. I do not want to highlight one sector when others are also suffering. Funding to get the sector off its knees and enable it to survive is needed immediately, not on some fictitious date the House of Commons may or may not decide if it ever gets its act together.

On a related matter, I read this morning that Brazilian farmers are beginning to register cattle at birth, albeit it is not yet a legal requirement for them to do so. They are getting their ducks in a row and ramping up their sustainability and traceability systems. They see the opening coming which will be the last straw in the accumulating perfect storm for the Irish beef sector. Will the Leader bring the Minister to the House, not for questioning but in order that he can tell us the what, when, where and how of his action to get the beef sector back on the road?