Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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2552. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has examined the reasons for the significant beef price differential between the Irish and UK markets recently; his plans to implement measures to address the relatively poor prices secured by Irish farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20279/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, prices for beef and other commodities are a commercial matter which I have no role in determining. They are a function of demand and supply, and a range of other cost factors, including currency relativities, along the supply chain. As the Deputy knows, they are not controlled by Government.

In line with a recommendation in the Beef Stakeholder Agreement reached in September, Bord Bia now publishes a detailed weekly "Beef Market Tracking" update which presents data on a range of indicators. This includes price comparisons, a comparison of Irish composite prices (for all product, and for prime cattle) with an 'export benchmark price', which reflects the relative importance of key markets for Irish beef, an index of wholesale and retail prices and a by-product market indicator.

As illustrated by the Bord Bia Market tracker, IE prices for prime cattle historically trend below those in the UK for a range of reasons including those outlined above. It should also be noted from the tracker data that IE prices continue to trend slightly above the EU average:

The Department provides a range of financial aids to support beef farm incomes and to support economic and environmental efficiency. The core support for the beef sector under the current RDP is the €300 Million Beef Data and Genomics Programme. In addition to this support, over the last two years, over €200 million of additional supports were made available specifically to the beef sector, including the BEAM and BEEP schemes in 2019 and the Beef Finishers Payment and BEEP-S in 2020. In addition, the Beef Sector Efficiency Pilot with allocation of €45 million has been launched recently.

I have also put in place funding of up to €6m over the next three years through Bord Bia, in order to develop and promote an Irish suckler beef proposition abroad. This is an initiative that I hope can support the sector.

I can assure the Deputy that my Department is constantly monitoring the market situation for all agricultural commodities including beef.