Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my constituency colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Heather Humphreys. I know from working with her in the constituency of her concern for the welfare of farmers. I acknowledge, as did my colleague, the potential benefits of the deal. However, I wish to focus on the potential pitfalls. At present, beef farmers are experiencing dreadful conditions. I find it strange that store cattle are making a very good price, and perhaps my colleagues who are beef farming will tell me about it. The problem is at the fattening stage.

The Minister stated there will be equivalence of standards and the Government would want to ensure that is the case, but how does one control the quality of meat so that we do not get imports of hormone beef? The departure of the UK from the European Union could help us in that there would be a greater imperative for the UK to get cheaper beef because of the demography of its population. How the import of beef will be vetted is a major issue. We would need alternative markets to meet the market that will be displaced from the import of 99,000 tonnes of beef under the Mercosur agreement. If as Senator Marshall said it will represent a 16% reduction of farmer incomes, we would have to compensate our farmers directly to make up that loss of 16% of income. We would have to do that.

If the economic analysis were to throw up a situation where overall Ireland benefits from this, then we have to focus on our beef farmers and support them in two ways through this. We would have to make direct payment support and open up new markets. I know that some new markets have been opened up in recent times. There would have to be measures to ensure equivalent, hormone-free quality beef.

Coming from Cavan, I wish to stress the importance of the pig and poultry sectors. Farms in counties Cavan and Monaghan are not specifically beef or dairy, as they might be in the south. The small farms in Cavan will rear store cattle, and have a small dairy herd and both need protection.

My point is that we to protect our farmers through this process. There can be no diminution of their income, as the income of the small farmers and those engaged in mixed farming is not there and we need to save them.