asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the administrative steps he has taken to ensure that slaughter premiums, intended for producers of bullocks, heifers and certain bulls of minimum qualifying standards which are slaughtered under departmental supervision, are being paid to the producer.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Slaughter Premiums.
127.
Meat export factories and home butchers are recouped the slaughter premiums on the basis of having paid them to producers. My Department require each factory to include as part of its claim the producer's name and address, the date of slaughter of the animals, the carcase numbers, the market price paid and the slaughter premium paid as well as, for checking purposes, the serial number of the corresponding detailed factory statement issued to the producer. A butcher is required to submit with his claim a certificate signed by each producer that he has received the slaughter premium in addition to the market price paid.
Would the Minister not consider it unfair that you must have five cattle slaughtered before you can get the slaughter premium?
I do not know where the Deputy gets the figure five. The only requirement is that there should be a veterinary inspection before and after slaughter, and it is impossible to get the local authorities to do this unless there is a fairly substantial number of cattle, say, 30 at least in the week. You would need an army of veterinary surgeons if you were to go into every backyard to inspect a couple of cattle before and after slaughter. We are anxious that the maximum number of people get this, because it does not cost us all that money.
I know that, but the reason I am asking a supplementary question is that I know that in my own county, if there are 30 cattle slaughtered in small towns and if they are only slaughtered in twos——
The Deputy is giving information, not asking a question.