asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in what manner the rationalisation scheme to be operated by the Pigs and Bacon Commission will be financed; whether a levy will be placed directly or indirectly on the producer; and if he will make a general statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Pigs and Bacon Commission.
77.
As already announced, payment of compensation will be financed by adjustment, as appropriate, of the Pigs and Bacon Commission's levy on pig slaughterings. This levy is payable by bacon curers on slaughterings of bacon pigs and there is no statutory provision for deduction of the levy from prices paid to producers who must be paid the guaranteed minimum pig prices.
Can the Minister say whether this will be borne in any sense by the producer?
It will be worked in two directions. I think that the curer will seek to compensate himself in so far as possible but, on the other hand, the elimination of the uneconomic elements in the processing industry will benefit both the producer and the curer. The object of the whole exercise is to have a more efficient bacon industry and, thereby, to procure for the producer, better prices for his pigs but I think that in the long run the producer will be the gainer. In any event, the curer cannot go below the guaranteed minimum price.