Vol. 363 No. 4
asked the Minister for Agriculture the plans he has for expanding the market for our beef in view of the phasing out of EC intervention buying or if he intends to encourage beef farmers to diversify into more lucrative and marketable products; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
28.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the steps he intends taking to prevent the dismantling of the intervention system for farm products.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 28 together. It is not correct to state that the EC intervention system for farm products is being dismantled or phased out. A paper on the beef market organisation which the EC Commission put before the Council of Ministers suggests, among other things, that intervention for beef be used as a last resort and limited severely with effect from late 1987. However, this paper should be seen as the initial thinking of the Commission. I would expect that the Commission will shortly be presenting detailed proposals to the Council on the operation of the beef regime. If these proposals provide for the abolition of intervention for beef, I will be opposing them.
As regards diversification, of course I support efforts by beef farmers to improve the efficiency of their production. The ACOT training and advisory services are geared to this end. Moreover, the assistance of my Department and the IDA is available for developments which expand downstream processing and make beef products more lucrative and marketable.
Has the Minister or his Department any plans to develop alternative markets? Are they awaiting the collapse of the intervention system before steps are taken or are we totally in the hands of the EC in relation to the development of our agriculture?
We were never less in the hands of the EC. Our beef markets abroad have expanded enormously in recent years. A favourite theme of the Deputy's party was to call for the cessation of the exportation of cattle on the hoof. I might point out that when we entered the EC, 70 per cent of the beef we exported was live cattle on the hoof. Nowadays that figure is as low as 10 per cent or 15 per cent. Therefore we are making tremendous progress in that area and are depending less and less on intervention as time goes past.
