Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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288. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action he will take to remove the barriers on labelling at processing and retail level, that are impeding the live export trade to Britain and Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5809/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I attach substantial importance to the live export trade and my Department has been very proactive during my time as Minister in facilitating both the cross border live trade and shipments abroad. Live exports serve a dual purpose as a means of satisfying market demand for live animals and providing alternative market outlets for cattle farmers in Ireland. Total live exports for 2014 were 237,000 head, of which over 72,000 went to the UK - a 10% increase over 2013. Specifically, over 54,000 head were exported to Northern Ireland, which is comparable with the 2013 figure. I should make it clear that Ireland has been a proponent of mandatory origin labelling for beef, which requires the place of birth, rearing and slaughter to be shown on beef labels. The longstanding policy of UK retailers, who buy large quantities of Irish beef, is to market British and Irish beef separately. This means that beef must be sourced from animals originating in one country or the other, so that they can be labelled as born, reared and slaughtered in the same country. In addition, logistical difficulties can arise when a small number of Irish-born animals are slaughtered in a UK meat plant. Under mandatory EU labelling rules, these carcases have to be deboned in a separate batch, and packaged and labelled accordingly, thereby incurring additional costs for the processor. These issues are a matter of commercial preference, both of slaughter plants in Britain, and of British retailers.

While Bord Bia has repeatedly raised this issue with British retailers over the years, they are unlikely to reverse their marketing policy in the short term and face other demands from UK stakeholders to stock more British beef. 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. In addition, Bord Bia actively supports the development of the live export trade through the provision of market information, developing market access and promotional activity.

I have also had several meetings with my Northern counterpart, Minister Michelle O’Neill, on this subject. We agreed to make a joint approach to the three British retailers who stock Irish Beef, accepting that these were commercial matters, but also seeking some flexibility given that this mixed label beef is produced to the exacting standards required by British consumers.

Minister O’Neill also approved a voluntary beef label in Northern Ireland for cattle born in the Republic of Ireland, raised in the Republic of Ireland and/or Northern Ireland, and slaughtered in Northern Ireland. This label would facilitate the sale of beef from animals born in the South and slaughtered in the North under a voluntary ‘Irish’ label, if retailers are willing to stock the product carrying this label. Of course, such a label would be additional to the mandatory origin label. The question of using such a label is now a commercial matter between processors and retailers in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK.

Following on from this, I convened a meeting with Minister O’Neill and the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium which took place in October. At this meeting the NIRC made it clear that their beef buyers had a preference for single origin beef, of which they had ample supply, but they would keep the situation under review. I also met separately with Tesco where we had a useful and frank discussion on this and other procurement issues. I will continue to pursue opportunities for exports of beef and live cattle at every opportunity.