asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he has given any additional licences to slaughter cattle during the past year; if he intends granting additional licences during the remainder of the year; and, if so, how many.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cattle Slaughter Licences.
27.
I presume the Deputy is referring to the registration of premises under the Agricultural Produce (Fresh Meat) Acts for the slaughter of cattle for export.
No such slaughtering premises has been registered in the year 1968. A number of proposals for the erection of new cattle slaughtering premises have been received but I do not anticipate that any new premises is likely to qualify for registration before the end of this month.
Could the Minister say if, in fact, a bacon factory has been given a licence to slaughter cattle?
Not in the recent past.
Not during the past year?
If that is included in the Deputy's question the answer is "No"; if it is not included in his question, I would need to have another look at it before I could answer.
The reason I put down this question is that the existing factory space is much too great. Is the Minister aware that killings are down in the present year by 20 to 25 per cent in all the factories?
They are up about 50 per cent——
They are down 20 per cent.
Do not try to cod us.
Is the Minister aware that the chairman of one meat factory has told his shareholders that killings are down by 20 to 25 per cent and that this is the estimate for the whole country?
Why do the Deputy and some of his friends not get wise to this, that 108,000 tons were killed and put through our meat factories last year as against four years ago when only 19,000 tons were killed? To give this picture that there is a 25 per cent decline this year without reference to the huge build-up there has been in the previous four years is misleading and might be disturbing to some of the people who are interested in meat factories.
It obviously is.