Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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239. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the context of recent developments in the beef industry, if further consideration will be given to supervise the meat industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37974/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My role in relation to the beef sector is to create a policy and support environment that will allow it to flourish in line with normal market principles. As the Deputy will appreciate, questions of price are ultimately matters to be determined between the purchasers and the sellers of cattle. It is neither appropriate nor possible for me or any other Minister for Agriculture in the EU, to intervene directly on these issues. Cattle prices are determined by supply/demand dynamics which are in turn influenced by the seasonality of production, the length of the production lifecycle and market conditions such as retail promotions, consumer confidence, competition with other meats and the overall macroeconomic situation. However, the State, through the Competition Authority already has a well established infrastructure for dealing with allegations of anti competitive practices and I do not consider it appropriat e to replicate that structure through a new supervisory body in the beef sector.