asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will make a statement on reports that Ireland has the lowest price for beef intervention buying of any country in the European Community due to the coefficients of the guide price used here; and the action he proposes to take in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Beef Intervention Price.
22.
Our intervention prices are substantially higher than in the UK. In accordance with Community regulations, the buying-in prices for beef sold into intervention are derived from the intervention price. This price is adjusted by a coefficient reflecting the relationship between the average market price of each of the categories of animals eligible for intervention and the Community average market price for adult cattle. The Irish coefficients will come up for review in the normal way at the beginning of the next marketing year. The high level of intake into intervention here, which is now running at about 3,000 tons per week, would indicate that our buying-in prices are not unremunerative vis-àvis market returns.
Would the Minister not agree that a comparison with the United Kingdom is misleading in view of the special situation existing there and their failure to devalue the green £ and that the more appropriate comparison would be with France? Would he agree that the coefficient here for steers is .90 as against an equivalent coefficient of 1.20 in France and that this means in practice that farmers in this country are not getting the prices that farmers are getting in France and other continental countries?
Prices being obtained for intervention here and in the United Kingdom have borne a constant relationship since the introduction of the green currency and have been varied with each variation in the green currency.
The comparison is ridiculous.
It is not correct for the Deputy to say that my reply is misleading.
Question No. 23.
Would the Minister state what he is prepared to do about the situation which is highly detrimental to Ireland vis-à-vis other continental contries?
I have called the next question