Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Farming in this country is in crisis at the moment. I do not make that statement lightly. The recent report by Teagasc confirms that farm income levels have fallen across the State in the Past year. Dairy incomes averaged €49,000 last year, which was a decrease of an incredible 69% compared with 2022. Tillage farm income fell by 71% last year, a phenomenal fall, and now it is coming in at just €21,000. Dry stock incomes fell also in 2023. The average income for a cattle farm at the moment fell by 14% to €12,600. The income of sheep farmers fell by 22%. The average income for a sheep farmer in the State is €12,500. Across all farm types, the average income has dropped by 57%. That is an incredible figure. The average income for farmers in this State is €20,000 - a massive and stunning fall. All of that is before we even mention the increase in input costs that have happened in the past while.

Because of those income falls, every year we see more and more farmers leave the sector. If this was happening in any other sector in Ireland, it would be front-page news. It would be on the television regularly and would be consuming the debate space in this Chamber that a sector's income would fall so significantly. It is practically invisible, however, in the debates that are taking place currently. It shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that, in the main, farming is not a sustainable way of life for people in Ireland.

According to Teagasc, a third of farmers are making a loss. Many of them are going into debt and poverty. Another third of farmers are only making an income and a living because they are working off the farm. They are working in a second job to supplement their income. Only a third of farmers in the whole sector make enough from their farm to make a living.

That is an incredible situation for a number of reasons. First, it is an incredible situation for the families themselves to be driven into such income poverty in their own lives. It is also an incredible situation because it is a really important sector, the one that produces the foods that are the backbone of the rural community. That is leading to a situation where rural communities are collapsing. Even for those who have no interest in farmers and do not care about rural Ireland, it is a very important issue, because if there are no farmers, there is no food, and if there is no food, there is no future.

Food security is a very important issue and has become more important in recent years than ever before. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected supply chains, leading to certain products not being available. That has also created significant inflation. Covid saw the shutdown of supply chains, which again took products out of the Irish market and led to massive inflation. The Suez Canal blockage in that period also led to supply chains falling down, products not being available and inflation. There have been serious attacks on supply chains across the world in recent years. We need to take food security seriously.

The damage being done to farmers is affecting rural Ireland. If the family farm dies, so too does rural Ireland. Feed lots and industrial farms may keep production up but will not send kids to school, purchase products in local shops, play for the local football teams or socialise in the local pubs.

It might appear from what I have said that there is no money in food; there is massive money in food. There are billions of euro in the food market in this country. The problem is that money is landing on two elements of the supply chain and not on the third. The supply chain for food in this country consists of farmers, who do most of the work, usually a processor of some sort and usually a supermarket.

There is massive profitability but that profit is landing in the factories and supermarkets and not with the farmer who does most of the work.

If one looks at the food processors, they are incredibly profitable at present but I can tell you they are also very good at hiding their profits. The company of one such food processor, and I will not mention his name, had an income of €4 billion in 2022. The profits it generated are estimated at €200 million and the taxes were paid through a network of smaller holding companies in Britain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Jersey. It is estimated that the individual paid a tax of approximately 2%. That is an incredible situation. This individual had a profit of €200 million and a tax of 2% while at the same time and up until very recently, was expecting farmers to provide beef to the factory gate below the cost of production. That is the key element of this Aontú Bill. We want to focus on trying to make farmers and the family farm viable and sustainable.

The other element of the supply chain is the supermarkets, which make enormous profits too. Tesco made a profit of €2 million every single day last year. SuperValu had profits of approximately €100 million last year, while Aldi made a profit of €17 million. It is impossible to find out what the profits were for other companies because they hold those cards so close to their chests. What is happening here is we have an oligopoly. Anybody who has studied leaving certificate economics will tell you that an oligopoly is where you have a small number of firms operating with a perfect competition. The small number of firms have enormous buyer power and can control all aspects of the market. In a normal economy, there would be a strong competition authority and that competition authority would prevent the abuse of power that is provided by that particular oligopoly. In a normal economy, that competition authority would stop the oligopoly from appearing in the first place by disallowing the concentration of power in such few hands but of course, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have never done that in this country.

The truth is we need to create a more balanced and competitive structure within the Irish system. In reality, we need a strong competition authority to do that but we do not have one as of yet or at least we have not seen any examples of a competition authority exerting its influence on this sector so we must rebalance the situation. The Aontú Equitable Beef Pricing Bill will, if enacted, first and foremost ban the below-cost-of-sale beef. It will ensure that from now on, farmers would receive, at least, the cost of production price for their beef so they would not be in a situation where they were forced to bring a beast to the factory at a loss each time.

There will be many people listening to this debate who will be surprised below-cost selling of beef in this country exists but it is the truth and not just in the beef sector but right through the whole agricultural sector such as, for example, in poultry, sheep and pigs. It regularly happens that farmers are forced to provide product below the cost of production because factories and supermarkets are squeezing farmers every single day in respect of keeping prices lower and lower. That is what our Bill seeks to do, namely, to put a floor under farmers' incomes and the price of beef. If people ask what the cost of production price of beef is, we will simply say in our Bill that Teagasc should be the organisation to decide. People will disagree with this and that is fine, but at least we have an independent organisation of some sort focusing on what the price of beef is in this context.

There is an exploitative element of the structure of the food market that would not be allowed in any other sector. I will give the Minister of State an example. Imagine if a person said to the Minister of State that he or she wanted him to work 70 hours per week in terms of Bills, clinics and representing citizens for a wage less than the cost it takes him to do the job. The Minister of State would tell that person to get stuffed and rightly so. Everybody here would say get stuffed. Almost every profession in the country would say get stuffed and yet that is the exact system in place for the food sector. How has it been it allowed to continue so long?

I have raised this issue for the past six years. When the 2020 strikes happened outside the factories, I went to almost every protest and spoke to farmers on that. I was selected by some farmers to be their representative with the Government during those negotiations. I even represented some farmers in the High Court who had injunction orders placed against them to stop them protesting outside of those factories. I raised this in the previous agricultural committee at the time, when a Fine Gael TD was the Chair of that committee. At the time he said it would be unreasonable for farmers to expect a price above the cost of production, which is an incredible statement for anybody to make. Shockingly, there was another TD there who is now the Minister for agriculture, Deputy McConalogue, who agreed with the Fine Gael Chair and said it would be unreasonable for farmers to expect a price above the cost of production. That is absolutely disgraceful and wrong. We need to get to a situation where we have a proper functioning market. I am not talking about fixing a market in a manner that does not allow that market to function. I am looking to reform the market to allow it to properly function in a balanced and proper way. The Aontú Bill simply states that a person acting in the course of business shall not purchase beef from a farmer at a price below the minimum amount for the time prescribed by ministerial order. That ministerial order will be based upon the price decided by Teagasc.

There is no doubt in my mind but that this Bill is not perfect but I believe it is a monumental step forward. It is a Bill, I will say, that Fianna Fáil supported in opposition, which is an important thing to see. I hope Fianna Fáil will also support it in government. This would put a floor under farm incomes and would increase the welfare and sustainability of farming families. It would be a shot in the arm for rural Ireland and would help guarantee our food security into the future.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Tóibín for bringing this Bill forward and for his passionate contribution to the debate. I have listened with interest to his setting out of his stall and I have taken careful note of what he has said.

We can all agree that farmers should receive a fair and equitable price for their produce. The programme for Government recognises the economic and social role of agriculture as our most important indigenous industry in promoting balanced regional development. The Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the incomes and livelihoods of family farms, of which approximately 55% are engaged in specialist beef production. The Government is working consistently to support the beef sector and improve animal health and welfare standards.

The proposed legislation seeks to involve the Minister in what are currently private commercial matters. The proposed legislation contains measures that are likely to have unintended consequences and would be detrimental to the sector. For this reason, the Government cannot support the Bill.

Much has happened since the Bill was first tabled in 2020. This Government has a strong record in general in delivering for the agrifood sector and beef farmers. The Government has provided €9.8 billion for the current CAP period, which is the highest ever invested by an Irish Government in the sector. In addition, we have provided the highest ever direct supports for the beef sector and have pursued a policy objective towards improving the farmer’s position in the supply chain. This Government has also provided an unprecedented level of direct supports for beef farmers. Under the current CAP strategic programme, CSP, the suckler carbon efficiency programme is worth €256 million to suckler farmers. This targeted support is, of course, in addition to the other supports for suckler farmers under the CSP, such as the ACRE scheme, the organic farming scheme and the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS. Regarding the CSP supports, Minster McConalogue has provided additional exchequer funding for the sector again this year. The increased allocation he secured for his Department in budget 2025 will enable him to provide: an additional payment of €25 per calf under the beef welfare scheme, which will increase the payment per calf to €75; and an extra €20 payment per calf for a dairy beef measure. The allocation of this funding will be agreed in consultation with the farm organisations in due course. The scheme allocations build on the significant sectoral supports the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has put in place since his appointment four years ago.

In the period 2020-22 alone, a total of €268 million was paid to farmers under targeted national and CAP beef schemes. Last year, participants in three beef schemes throughout the country received over €76 million in payments. The Government has increased targeted supports to the beef sector in successive years through the suckler carbon efficiency programme and the annual beef welfare scheme. As a result of budget 2025, suckler farmers participating in those schemes will receive an increased payment of €225 per cow and calf pair, compared to €200 for each eligible pair this year. That is the highest level ever.

Looking at the wider policy environment, the Government has also supported a number of key initiatives which are aimed at improving the economic and environmental efficiency of beef farmers. The dairy calf to beef action plan involves a collaborative effort between Teagasc, Bord Bia, Animal Health Ireland, the Irish Cattle and Breeding Federation and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Its objective is to ensure the improved quality of calves from the dairy herd and provide an attractive business option for beef farmers. Significant progress has already been made on many actions. These include the launch in March of the CSP dairy beef welfare scheme to incentivise the use of high dairy beef index genetics and the display on most mart boards of the commercial beef value of calves destined for beef production.

I want say a few words about the Government's flagship investment in improving the genetic merit of beef sires in the national herd. In addition to the SCEP and the CSP dairy beef welfare schemes, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, launched the national bovine genotyping programme in 2023. This innovative programme is for a five-year period and is open to beef and dairy herd owners. Funding for the first year of the programme was €10.7 million and was provided by the Department. The total estimated cost of €15 million for each subsequent year will be funded using a strategic public-private cost sharing model between the Department, industry, including milk and dairy producers, and participating farmers. The Government has committed €5 million per year over that period. The programme is administered on behalf of the Department by the ICBF. This innovative programme represents a significant step towards our ambition for Ireland to be the first country in the world to genotype the entire national bovine herd. The genotyping programme is already facilitating tangible benefits in terms of breeding decisions, which will have a knock-on benefit for climate action, animal health and productivity at farm level. Genotyped weanlings and store cattle that are being traded through marts have their commercial beef value displayed on mart screens. That value provides farmers with essential information on the genetic value of calves. This is critical information for calf rearers in purchasing animals and for dairy farmers to receive feedback on their breeding decisions.

I refer to An Rialálaí Agraibhia, the Agri-Food Regulator. The programme for Government contained a commitment to ensure fairness, equity and transparency in the agri-food supply chain by establishing a new authority to enforce EU-wide rules on prohibited unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and to have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland. Delivering on that commitment, An Rialálaí Agraibhia, the Agri-Food Regulator, an independent statutory body, was established in December 2023 for that purpose. The regulatory body has two functions: an enforcement function in regard to unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain; and a price and market analysis function, aimed at ensuring more transparency and fairness throughout the agri-food supply chain, with a view to strengthening the position of smaller suppliers against larger buyers with greater bargaining power. At present, the regulator is dealing with three ongoing complaints regarding unfair trading practices. It has also carried out a number of on-site compliance inspections using legislative powers available under the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023. These inspections ensure that trading practices and any mechanisms to address deficiencies in a business are compliant with the 2023 legislation and associated regulations. Greater transparency will be achieved by regularly publishing reports on price and market data, as well as preparing and publishing reports on contingency issues, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The increased availability of information at all stages of the agri-food supply chain will contribute to better decision making by small food suppliers and a greater understanding for all stakeholders of challenges faced by businesses along the supply chain. The first price and market analysis reports on the Irish table egg sector was published recently on the regulator’s website. While the regulator has an important role in ensuring greater transparency, it cannot and does not set prices.

Turning to the proposed legislation, it is important to note that Ireland is almost 700% self-sufficient in beef production at present. In 2023, around 92% of domestically slaughtered beef was exported. Last year, Ireland exported 484,000 metric tonnes of beef, worth almost €3 billion to more than 65 markets globally. Irish beef prices are influenced not just by demand and supply dynamics in the domestic market, but also by conditions in the main export destinations, primarily the UK and EU. Legislating as proposed in this Bill would serve to distort the market and reduce Ireland’s overall competitiveness in the sector, as it fails to account for the degree of dependence on international trade and the potential impact of product substitution. Lower demand in export markets, which account for the vast majority of sector value, is likely to arise due to different demand curves at home and abroad, in particular for Irish beef. Even on the domestic food market, retailers, distributors and the food service sector would be incentivised to source their supplies from elsewhere. Thus, the measures proposed could paradoxically have the effect of reducing sales from Irish farms, resulting in industry contraction and the gradual erosion of demand from the processing sector. This proposed legislation is unlikely to meet the EU legal test for a justified and proportionate restriction on trade and would serve to distort the market and reduce Ireland’s overall competitiveness in the sector.

Regarding bonus payments, the Bill refers to a 30-month rule. Let me be clear; there is no rule limiting the age of cattle for beef production. However, meat processors do make bonus payments in respect of cattle which meet certain market specifications. The Bill also seeks to determine the nature of bonuses for animals over or under 30 months. This is entirely a commercial matter and not a condition imposed by the Department. The payment of a bonus is a commercial matter between the processors and the primary producers.

Irish beef is a unique product that is well suited to many markets because it meets global consumers’ expectations for high quality and safe food. Its quality and unique production systems were recognised last year when Irish grass fed beef was awarded protected geographical indication, PGI, status by the European Commission. This all-island PGI status was achieved through a collaborative effort involving beef stakeholders from North and South over several years. Promoting our outstanding food, drink and horticulture produce to the world is an essential part of the process. Bord Bia plays an important role in supporting and enabling primary producers and processors to continually meet those expectations. Targeted trade missions to maintain and expand existing markets as well as developing new opportunities provide a valuable outlet for our world-class products. Considered collectively, the Government has done more to support the beef sector than this Bill claims to achieve. In summary, the proposed legislation would not achieve its stated objectives and cannot be supported by the Government.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the introduction of this Bill. For too long, our farmers have had to navigate a marketplace that is not designed with their needs in mind, while at the same time having to comply with measures that are outdated and schemes designed and rolled out by the Department in a manner that can, at best, be described as inefficient.

Farmers are workers too. They are involved in one of the most important sectors in this country, yet they find themselves in a situation which calls for Bills such as this to be introduced. This is evident from July's Teagasc national farm survey, which showed that despite a continued increase in the cost of living, farm incomes continued to fall. Clearly, their circumstances were not being adequately addressed and that continues. Most recently, we have been approached about the unreliability of schemes, an increase in production costs and the price volatility that is leading many farmers to leave the sector. Deputies Carthy and Kerrane worked extensively with me to ensure farmers had more representation on the Agri-Food Regulator. Thankfully, this was accepted. Our amendments to ensure that the regulator would have the authority to seek all of the information from businesses that it needs to carry out its role effectively and recognise the full breadth of the agri-food supply chain, from producer right through to the consumer, were also accepted. This went some way towards making the remit of the regulator relevant for farmers, yet the Minister refused to accept our amendment to give the regulator real powers to investigate anti-competitive practices.

Various factors contribute to farmers not getting a fair price. We have always been proponents of fair play for farmers, and that includes fair pricing. We have to acknowledge that while input costs for farmers continue to rise, this does not take into account pricing when it is time for animals to be slaughtered.

This is obvious when we see the end product selling for as much as €30 per kg, yet farmers might only receive between €4 and €5.36 per kg on average when they sell to processors.

The Minister will say there are schemes to assist farmers along the way, and I acknowledge that. However, it is also true to say that these schemes, whether they are departmental or EU schemes, can be unreliable. The Government, us in opposition, rural communities and the entire economy depend on the reliability of our farmers, however. It cannot just work one way. I welcome the introduction of the Bill.

I also point out that there are obligations put on our farmers that do not make sense and can hold them back. In 2021, I took issue with the 30-month rule. Introduced in response to the BSE crisis, it remains in place despite widespread understanding that it is outdated.

Farmers need proper input into how their livelihoods and the well-being of our rural communities can be sustained. The establishment of a commission on the future of family farming is one way towards this. We in Sinn Féin are committed to that in order that a voice is given to farming families and they can bring forward proposals aimed at sustaining their farms into the future.

A matter not related to food prices but affecting rural Ireland is the insufficient ash dieback scheme. Its one-size-fits-all style is not workable for many. Foresters feel let down and their decades of work are being undermined by the Department on an ongoing basis. I appeal to the Minister to consider this going forward and to fix what is a broken RUS scheme. I thank Deputy Tóibín for bringing the Bill forward.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Are there no other speakers? It is that time of the evening and that time of the cycle. Only a few of us brave souls are left.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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It is the graveyard shift.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Browne. I thank Deputy Tóibín for introducing the Bill and provoking the debate. He has attempted to address a significant issue. I have given reasons, which I will recap, as to why the Government is not in a position to support the Bill but, notwithstanding that, I commend the Deputy on his initiative in bringing it forward.

I listened with interest to Deputy Browne. Ash dieback is a valid point to raise. It is not part of this Bill but it is a valid point that has to be addressed. I thank him for raising it.

The difficulty is that although the concerns raised across the House are legitimate, the Bill is not seen as the correct vehicle to address them. That is nub of the issue in terms of where this goes next. If passed, the Bill would cause a number of undesirable side effects and consequences that would do nothing to alleviate the issues it purports to address. Rather, it could actually make them worse. It could exacerbate certain issues and have unintended consequences. As I pointed out in my earlier contribution, it could do the beef family farming model more harm than good.

It would result in cattle prices being entirely unrelated to the market price for beef. It would serve to distort the market and reduce the overall competitiveness of the Irish beef sector. It fails to take into account the sector's reliance on international trade. It is those external markets in the EU and other third countries that ultimately determine the price paid for Irish beef. It would likely lead to lower demand in those export markets where there is a strong possibility of excess supply due to an artificial price floor above the equilibrium price.

Closer to home, it would distort and disrupt the domestic supply chain. Retailers, distributors and the food service sector would be incentivised to source their supplies elsewhere. Paradoxically, this Bill could have the effect of reducing sales from Irish farms, ultimately resulting in industry contraction and the gradual erosion of demand from the processing sector.

Furthermore, legislating for a price floor is highly unlikely to meet the EU's legal test for justified and proportionate restriction on trade. Rules regarding the payment of bonuses by processors for the suppliers are private commercial matters between farmers and the meat factories. In brief, passage of the proposed Bill would simply serve to distort the market and reduce Ireland's overall competitiveness in this sector.

The Government's achievements in improving the productivity and competitiveness of primary beef producers are worth recapping. The Government has placed a strong emphasis on supporting farm incomes, improving generational renewal and strengthening farmers' position in the supply chain. The Government has provided €9.8 billion for the current CAP strategic plan, the highest amount ever invested by an Irish Government in the agrifood sector. The Minister has increased targeted supports to the beef sector in successive years through the suckler carbon efficiency programme and the national beef welfare programme. Budget 2025 increased the payment per suckler cow and calf pair from €200 this year to €225 in 2025, the highest level ever. There has been significant Government investment in the national genotyping programme, which will facilitate the closer integration and development of more sustainable beef and dairy herds.

An independent agrifood regulator has been established with the task of promoting fairness and transparency in the agrifood supply chain. The Government appointed a Minister of State with specific responsibility for new market development in the agrifood sector. There is close collaboration with cross-government Departments, State agencies, including Bord Bia, and the embassy network on maintaining existing markets and targeting new markets. Securing EU recognition and protected geographic indicator status for Irish grass-fed beef underscores the unique attributes of our production system and provides branding opportunities in key high-value markets.

Beef farming accounts for the majority of farm enterprises and makes a vital contribution to the economic and social sustainability of rural areas. While acknowledging that economic viability of beef production can be challenging, this Government has done more than any other to address those challenges. The Government has a proven track record of delivery, protecting livelihoods and providing targeted sectoral supports during its tenure in office. Working collaboratively with sectoral stakeholders, the Government has worked coherently and consistently to increase the resilience and overall value of the beef supply chain. Unfortunately, this Bill jeopardises the sector, rather than protecting it.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The Government is missing two massive points. First, it is missing the point that the market is already distorted. I have a degree in economics. Anybody who analyses the food market in this country will tell you that it is, by definition, a distorted market. It is not unusual for the Government to preside over distorted markets. Much of the economy, such as the insurance industry, house-building and the banks, for example, comprises distorted markets. The two-pillar bank system we have is another oligopoly, an oligopoly that favours the two providers but really hurts the small businesses and families looking to do banking. We live in a distorted pricing system. It is broken. It is not the case that this Government stands for a free economy and that the invisible hand of the market will resolve the price difficulties here. If only it were that simple. The situation is the Government is presiding over an oligopoly whereby a small number of factories and supermarkets have enormous buyer power. They can do what they want. They can squeeze those farmers down to the last cent if they so wish. There is nothing to hold them back. There are no protections there. They do it on a regular basis. As a result, we see farmers having to strike and protest outside of factories. We see poultry farmers having to strike outside Aldi and Lidl because the price they are getting for their eggs is below the cost of production. We can see it in the beef and sheep sectors as well.

Until we have a properly functioning market, the farmers are going to suffer. The Minister of State mentioned this pot of money here and that pot of money there. It reminds me of what is being done in enterprise. It is welfare for farmers and welfare for enterprise. It is social welfare. It is basically saying, "We know the market is stuffed but we will give you a few bob to make it okay." The Government would not have to provide these schemes if the money was being distributed fairly along the supply chain.

I do not believe there is an understanding of economics within the Government's approach to this. That worries me. If there were such an understanding, there would be a desire to reform those markets. One of the reasons we are such a high-price country in so many ways is the massive power these organisations have. Supermarkets are currently gouging prices from people right across the country on a regular basis, and they are allowed to do it. Insurance companies are gouging prices. It took the intervention of the EU to try to resolve this and put Ireland under pressure with regard to the insurance companies and what they were doing to the market. We live in a distorted pricing mechanism and we live in a distorted market. That is the first part.

The second part is that while it is great to get a few bob here and there, that welfare does not make up for the simple wish of farmers and people in enterprise who just want decent input prices. They want a decent price for their product. They want decent transport infrastructure and decent ICT in order that they can communicate with the world.

Then the Government will not have to provide that welfare for them in the long run.

The second issue, the elephant in the room, is that the sector is in freefall. I gave figures about the price falling. Last year, tillage farmers saw their price fall by 71%. I imagine there are a good few tillage farmers in the Minister of State's constituency in County Kildare. Dry stock has an average income of €12,600. Sheep farmers have an average income of €12,500. This is way below minimum wage income. Even dairy had a collapse of 69% last year, an incredible figure. The average wage is about €20,000, half the average industrial wage. Farmers have been impoverished across the country, so much so that every year farmers vote with their feet and leave the sector. Every year, farming is no longer the primary income in those families because they earn a living from another job and the farm is a hobby. It is a part-time effort for most of those individuals. They only function because somebody works as a teacher, nurse or somewhere else outside of the farm. We cannot allow this to happen. On a humanitarian level, there are a lot of arguments why it should not happen because it is wrong to push people who provide a good product and do all that work into poverty. There is a human justice element in making sure we defend their incomes. In other sectors, trade unions would defend their incomes on a regular basis. Right now, that is where we are at. The Government is ignoring those two elements. In fairness, a lot of pressure has come on the Government and there is the regulator but there have been no efforts by the regulator yet to push back on this inordinate and unfair level of power.

The Minister of State mentioned international markets. This is an issue which the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, often brings up. Farmer Brown, when selling his cattle, does not get the cattle, put them into the trailer and bring them over to Belgium, France or China to end up in the supermarket. He sells them to the factory and the factory sells them over to the international market. Very few farmers sell their cattle directly to any consumers outside of Ireland. The international price about which the Minister of State spoke happens after the factory. The factory sucks up massive profits and has been allowed to do so by the structure. I gave the example of a factory which makes hundreds of millions of euro in profit annually and pays 2.5% tax. That international price for beef is through the lens of the factory; it is on the other side of the factory. Factories having to take a little bit less per kilo and paying the farmer a little bit more per kilo is not going to change the international dynamic of the price of beef at all. Farmers are getting it in the neck at the moment from the Green Party and the environmental issue. Farmers have to stock so damn high because there is such little margin on each unit of produce. Imagine if they did not have to stock so much, got more per unit and could make living from less stock. That would have significantly less of an environmental impact. The solution to the environmental elements around farming could be solved by making sure farmers get a decent price. I am not talking from the position of People Before Profit or a hard left position of interfering with the market. This solution would fix the market. That is what the Government has been missing around this issue for the past five or six years. As a result, farmers are continually in flux and suffering price-wise.

Regional and rural Ireland is emptying out of its young people. The average age in Balbriggan is ten years lower than the average age in Killarney. Most people cannot make a living in rural Ireland. Shops are closing. I canvassed in a town about a week and a half ago and the individual at the door said that in the past ten years six pubs, two hotels and two banks had closed and you could not get a hot meal in the town. That is replicated throughout the country. In many midland towns at around 1 p.m., you could play hurling up and down the main street because everybody is gone out of that town and they are all in Dublin. They all do a three-hour commute in and out of Dublin every day.

There are two economies in this country. There is the greater Dublin area economy and then there the rest of Ireland. On many main streets, every second building is derelict, empty and falling apart. We have a spatial problem. Ireland is developing into a city state. Many solutions need to be used to push back against that. One is allowing farmers to produce world-class quality beef, poultry, pigs and sheep and get a decent wage. The costs do not need to be raised one iota at the checkout. All that is needed is proper distribution of power within the supply chain and, therefore, proper distribution of profits. Until that day, we will have the same situation. My Bill is an emergency Bill. It is not for the long term. This is not how a market should be structured in the long term but it is to give a foothold to farmers so they can properly negotiate with the beef barons who are bleeding them dry.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the next weekly division time on Wednesday, 6 November 2024.