asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will postpone the Order affecting the sale of horned cattle until 1st April, 1969 so as to allow time for stall-fed cattle to be sold.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Sale of Cattle.
20.
The Order referred to has been in force since the 1st February, 1969. There can, therefore, be no question at this stage of postponement.
I might point out to the Deputy that three years prior notice through the press and other publicity media was given of the proposed introduction of the ban on the sale or export of horned cattle with effect from 1st February, 1969.
I would agree with the Minister that the time is opportune but it is small recompense to the man hard hit at the moment because he has one or two cattle to sell and he cannot dispose of them in a public place. Therefore he has to sell them in the stall or not at all; and because he will not know the value of them so well he is victimised. I would appeal to the Minister to postpone this to the 1st April and he would not do any harm to anyone.
One of the difficulties, as the Deputy is already aware and as the House is aware, is that the Order has been in operation since the 1st of this month. In addition, there can be no doubt but that every effort was made to let it be known that this ban was being put into operation. Ample notice was given and also a lot of publicity was given to this matter. There is again another feature in that, in doing this job and applying this ban and getting this thing in movement, we have a reciprocal agreement with the Six Counties who have made such a regulation simultaneously and this also comes into operation. That is a further difficulty. If there are those who have horned cattle at the moment I do not think they suffer all that much from this regulation in not knowing the value of cattle those days. Generally speaking, they are well able to ask more than the value of them. Whether they hold out and get the value of their cattle is another matter. There is another feature. We hope it is not too far from the time of the year when it will be possible to de-horn those cattle which would bring them within the regulation that has been made.
The Minister will agree that nobody would attempt to de-horn cattle which would run for beef. It is the small man who suffers. It is the man with one or two cattle who wants to sell them who suffers. He cannot sell them and he has to take them home. If the Minister would not enforce the Order until 1st of April he would be doing a service to the small man.
The whole purpose of notification was to help all farmers in applying. This was intended to be a service to all farmers.
It does not apply to the big farmers.