Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason farmers are not paid for the fifth quarter, that is, the remaining pieces of an animal carcase that are not used for meat production and which processors use for export business. [18290/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am very conscious of the role played by livestock farming in sustaining the rural economy and rural communities across Ireland.

I am aware of the current challenges facing beef farmers in particular, with a sustained period of low prices, following on from additional costs last year arising from the unprecedented weather events, and with significant Brexit uncertainty still overhanging the sector.

However, as Minister, I cannot intervene directly in any commodity price, including in relation to meat offals. Factory prices are a matter for the processing industry and the farmers who supply it. Cattle and other livestock prices are influenced by a variety of factors such as the level of consumer demand, production levels and exchange rate differences at any point in time.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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227. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the volume and value of offal exports in each of the years 2015 to 2018 and to date in 2019 to include all data for such exports that include remaining pieces of an animal carcase which are not being used for meat production in tabular form. [18291/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The data requested by the Deputy is set out in the table - these figures have been sourced from Central Statistics Office (CSO) trade data.

The data is based on Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes which are a tool for classifying goods, set up to meet the requirements both of the Common Customs Tariff and of the EU's external trade statistics. There is in excess of 50 such codes relating to specific offal types described by species and make-up.  Some CN codes include both the terms meat and/or offals.

As such, it cannot be determined whether this data refers exclusively to offals and parts of the carcass that are not being used for meat production.  It is likely that the above figures overstate the exact amount of our offal exports due to these classification categories.