Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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905. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of Polish beef being imported for further processing in meat plants; if this beef is sold on the Irish market or re-exported; the meat processors that are importing this beef; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13849/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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CSO figures show that 445 tonnes of beef were imported into Ireland from Poland in 2013. This figure is about 10% of the volume of beef which we exported from Ireland to Poland. Typically, beef imports from Poland are made up of lower value manufacturing product or carcass beef, which undergoes some further processing by Irish companies before re-export. Imported Polish beef is generally not destined for the domestic Irish market. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am not in a position to identify the companies concerned.

Rules on the labelling of meat and meat products are laid down in EU legislation. For beef, the current rules require compulsory origin labelling, with place of birth, rearing and slaughter specified. There is no evidence to suggest that third country beef is being imported into Ireland and processed and labelled as Irish beef.

An annual audit of imported products is carried out in each meat plant by my Department. The audit includes physical identity, labelling and documentary checks. This includes product originating both in EU Member States and third countries. In addition, labelling and documentary checks form part of the routine checks conducted by Department officials.

Checks are also conducted at retail level by the Health Service Executive (HSE), working under the aegis of the FSAI which has an overarching supervisory role in relation to labelling matters.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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906. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Michelle O’Neill, MLA, in the past three months on the sale of cattle from this jurisdiction to both farmers and meat processors in Northern Ireland; if he has expressed any concern to her over the operation of the free market between these jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13850/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The trading of cattle between here and Northern Ireland is a function of the market and neither I nor my counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive have any role in it, save for ensuring compliance with relevant regulations in relation to animal health and disease issues. Ultimately it is a matter for farmers in both jurisdictions to decide for themselves where their best advantage lies with regard to buying and selling their animals. In the same way, questions of price and market specification are matters to be determined between the purchasers and the sellers of cattle and it is neither appropriate nor possible for me to intervene directly on these issues. While I do meet and discuss issues of common interest periodically in the North-South Ministerial Council and other fora with Michelle O’Neill and other Northern Irish Ministers, it is not within our gift to change or influence the trade in cattle between our jurisdictions.

I am of course aware that there are difficulties currently in the sale of cattle from here to Northern Ireland because of price differentials arising from constraints brought about by the labelling system operated by the UK retail chains in relation to cattle born in this country and exported live for finishing and processing there. The retailers’ long-standing policy is to market UK and Irish beef separately. This means that beef must be sourced from animals originating in one country; i.e. born, reared and slaughtered in the same country, thus decreasing the attractiveness of Irish born cattle for Northern Irish meat plants whose customers are large UK retailers. In addition, logistical difficulties arise when a small number of Irish-born animals are slaughtered in a UK meat plant. Under mandatory EU labelling rules, these carcasses have to be deboned in a separate batch, packaged and labelled accordingly, thereby incurring additional costs for the processor.

While Bord Bia has repeatedly raised the issue of stocking beef from Irish born cattle slaughtered in the UK with British retailers over the years, there are no indications that their marketing policy is likely to be reversed soon. Nevertheless, Bord Bia in its ongoing interactions with British customers will continue to pursue all opportunities, to maximise the full potential of the beef and livestock trade with our largest trading partner.