Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá mé thar a bheith buíoch go bhfuil sé i láthair ar an lá gnóthach seo chun na ceiste seo a phlé.

I raise an issue in which many farmers are interested, namely, the Libyan and Egyptian live export market for beef. In April 2012 the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, issued a statement on the reopening of the Libyan market, in particular, which was valuable for live cattle exports in the past. In 1995 that market took 81,420 cattle valued at more than ¤70 million but the business came to an abrupt end in 1996 when Libya banned beef imports because of the outbreak of BSE. I understand some headway has been made on reopening those markets and that efforts are being made at diplomatic and technical levels but there have been no major announcements in the interim. This is an important market which would open up many doors and potential streams of income for farmers in the context of the suckler cow welfare scheme cutbacks and also the virtual monopoly where farmers are held to order by the factory system here which is able to keep prices low. Farmers' incomes would be increased dramatically if they had other markets into which they could sell, such as the Egyptian and Libyan markets.

I note that the Irish Farmers Association national livestock chairman, Mr. Henry Burns, said the live cattle market to Libya and other Middle East and north African countries was extremely important for Ireland's ¤2 billion livestock sector. If these markets are open, do we have the transport capability to take the livestock from Ireland to these countries?

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Gabhaim buíochas libh as ucht an cuireadh teacht go dtí an Seanad. Ba mhaith liom Nollaig shona a ghuí oraibh go léir.

I am taking this Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney. I wish to thank the Senator for raising the issue of markets abroad. The priority of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and its agencies is to support the beef sector through its efforts to open new markets for Irish beef and to ease the conditions of import in markets which are already open. These efforts have yielded a number of positive results in countries such as South Africa, Tunisia, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Egypt in the past year or so. In this context the Senator will also be aware that market access for beef was at the heart of Minister's visits earlier this year to China and the US, and that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is pro-actively engaged with a range of third countries in an effort to open markets. That being said, the Department will continue to treat the question of market access, both for beef and for live animals, as a priority.

We will and are continuing to facilitate live exports, which it is acknowledged, offer cattle price competition, and serve a real market demand. The live export trade provides alternative market outlets for cattle producers. There are two main components to the live export trade, namely, calf shipments to the Continent and the movement of forward stores and finished cattle to the UK. Data for the period from January to date in 2012 shows that overall live exports reached some 155,000 head.

Exports to Great Britain accounted for 70,094, while those to Italy, the Netherlands and Spain - the main continental markets - stand at 80,770. While the figures for the UK market represent an increase of 4%, the exports to continental EU countries are down some 40% on 2011. This is due simply to economic factors. The slower live export trade reflects the higher prices being paid by domestic beef producers.

The Senator raises the issue of live cattle to the Libyan and Egyptian markets. I am pleased to say that these markets are open to Irish cattle insofar as the veterinary certification that is the fundamental prerequisite has been agreed. The question of when trade will begin is dependent on a number of factors, including commercial factors such as price and demand and the availability and cost of suitable sea transport. Other non-EU countries open to cattle from Ireland and to which trade is taking place are Kazakhstan, Morocco and Tunisia.

The Egyptian market is open to fattening cattle under 20 months and to slaughter cattle less than 30 months and I would like to pay tribute to the efforts of Ambassador Moylan in securing this good outcome.

The Libyan market is currently open to fattening and slaughter male cattle under 24 months. However, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been endeavouring to have this age limit increased to 30 months in response to requests from interested exporters, and has submitted a certificate to allow for this for counter signature to the Libyan authorities. We await final confirmation on this and our diplomatic services in Rome are doing everything they can to expedite the matter. Our ambassador in Rome met with senior Ministers in Libya earlier this week and raised with them the outstanding responses regarding the health certificates in the cattle sector. They indicated that they saw no particular difficulty and undertook to respond within a short period. In terms of promoting trade with Libya they stressed that this was now mainly in private hands and, of course, such trade is always commercial.

Even though the necessary veterinary certification is in place, there remains the question of suitable sea transport. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has made every effort to facilitate ship approval and the Department is hopeful that a ship will be approved early in the new year. Three potential boats have been applied for and one application is at a more advanced stage. The current plan is that the boat, which is currently in Istanbul, will arrive in Waterford for re-inspection on or around mid January.

Ireland has a strict system of transport rules in respect of both national and international journeys.

The current Irish regulations on the approval of ships for livestock transport set a high standard, higher than that which applies in other EU member states. These regulations were introduced in 1996, following a comprehensive review of this area, in response to a series of major difficulties that arose with livestock shipments from Ireland at that time. Since then, our policy has been that given the potential risks associated with live shipments from Ireland, it is necessary for Ireland to maintain these high standards. I wish to reassure the House that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is continuing all its efforts to secure markets abroad for our valuable cattle industry be it in live trade or beef. Live exports continue to be an important outlet for Irish cattle, providing an essential element of competition with the beef trade.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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I am grateful for that reply from the Minister of State. It is welcome that the ship will be available in January to transport the cattle but what was the delay? The Minister made the announcement in April that the market was reopening. Why has it taken so long for the regulations to be put in place in order to make the ship available? I implore the Minister to ensure there will be no delay in making the ship available in the new year. This is a vital market for the beef industry.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I will bring the Senator's concerns to the Minister's attention. I will emphasise the point made by the Senator that the matter needs to be expedited.