Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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18. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the steps he has taken to resolve the beef price crisis that has caused farmers to blockade factories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42803/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am fully aware that this past year has been extremely difficult for beef farmers as prices have dropped from the high levels of 2013. While I can have no role in discussing prices, I and the Government have been very proactive in ensuring that we have the appropriate policy support environment in place to secure a sustainable future for all in the beef sector. I have brought forward a number of initiatives this year to help the sector, including the creation of the Beef Genomics Scheme and securing a budget of €23 million for this in 2014. I have also ensured that the budgets of the Beef Data Programme and the Beef Technology Adoption Programme are retained at €10 million and €5 million which when added to residual payments under the Suckler Cow Welfare Scheme amounts to an investment of €40m in 2014.

In the recent budget, I announced a total package of approximately €74 million for the beef sector in 2015, including a provision of €52 million for a proposed Beef Data and Genomics Programme. The budget package included an additional sum of €9 million to fund the Beef Data Programme, €6 million to assist farmer participation in the Beef Quality Assurance Scheme, and a further €1 million for Bord Bia in support of its marketing of Irish products abroad.

I established a Beef Roundtable earlier this year to facilitate discussions on the strategic issues facing the sector and to exchange intelligence on market developments and forecast. The roundtable is a valuable resource for engagement between stakeholders within the sector. It has been pivotal in improving communication between all parties in the sector. The discussions have led to a number of notable outcomes, including the decision to press forward with the development of Producer Organisations to rebalance bargaining power along the supply chain.

One particular concern highlighted by beef producers in this forum has been the application of specifications by the meat factories. While it is important to incentivise the production of the type of animals demanded by the marketplace, it is also vital that the signals provided to farmers are clear and reasonable. In order to overcome the concerns, and at my request, farm groups and processors have agreed to engage in intensive discussions over a two week period on the commercial issues in dispute, under an independent chair, Mr. Michael Dowling. For my part, I have agreed to hold another meeting of the roundtable today to review progress at which I expect receive an updated report and recommendations on the outcome of these discussions.