Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 190: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food further to Parliamentary Question No. 556 of 16 February 2010 and the audited accounts provided by applicants to the beef and pigmeat processing fund, if he is satisfied that the sector is paying properly for product from the primary producer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13267/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Beef and Sheepmeat Investment Fund supports investment in scale and efficiency in primary processing of beef and sheepmeat, and added value in further processing for retail, food service and manufacturing outlets. Pigmeat processing is not included within the scope of the fund.

The selection of projects followed evaluation by an expert committee comprising members from Enterprise Ireland, my Department, Bord Bia, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, private industry and academia. Applicants were requested to supply financial information including audited accounts for the previous two years, and projected profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statements for four years. Grant recipients are also required to submit annual audited accounts during the period of the grant agreement.

This financial information is provided to ensure, in line with state aid requirements and the evaluation criteria developed for the assessment of applications, that support is only granted to companies that are not in financial difficulty, and for projects that demonstrate financial/market viability.

As regards the price paid for beef and sheepmeat, this a commercial matter between the producer and his/her processor, and is subject to market demand and other economic variables.