I also welcome the Bill. As the Minister pointed out, all sections of the trade are quite happy with it. It is before us today as a result of the recent winding-up of the Export Livestock Insurance Board by the Minister. There was also the necessity for the premises of that board to be purchased by the trustees of the Slaughtered and Detained Animals Compensation Board. At the moment the latter board are using the premises of the board which has been wound up.
There are a few other matters also being attended to in the Bill, apart from the acquisition of the premises. It is ironic that in this day and age any public servant — albeit only in a part time job — finds himself, as the secretary to the Slaughtered Animals (Compensation) Trustees does, working for £300 a year since 1938. Previous to that, the figure laid down by statute was only £200 a year. The present incumbent of that job is Mr. Paddy O'Donoghue of the Irish Livestock Export Traders. It is considered at the moment by the national executive of the livestock world that we must continue with this cover pro tem. All of us who can recall the last foot and mouth outbreak in Britain in 1968 can remember the ripples and fears that went through the trade here at the time. It is easy to become casual about it when there has not been an outbreak of this horrific disease in our neighbouring country for some time. We have only to remind ourselves of the value of our livestock exports and how important they are, not just to the agricultural community but to the country as a whole.
We are a net exporting country and agriculture in round figures and agricultural output amount to about 25 per cent of our exports. Of that figure, cattle exports alone take up 19 per cent. The value that can be put on that cannot be over-estimated to the community at large. We have had from time to time, and increasingly in recent years, a conflict between urban and rural communities and a lack of understanding of how interdependent both communities are on each other. It is easy to forget, particularly in urban Ireland, that we are an agriculturally based country and that the future, particularly in the job line, will depend to a great extent on the agriculturally based industries, particularly in the food processing and value added sector. High in the list of importance in this area are our beef herds, cattle exports and, it is hoped, an increasing trade in value-added products from beef. With the advent of the super-levy again, we must increasingly turn our attentions to the importance of livestock exports, both on the hoof and in dead meat.
This Bill deals specifically with an insurance fund to compensate against losses due to foot and mouth outbreak in Britain. At the time of the last outbreak in Britain there was no need to draw on the fund. None of our exporters got caught up in the problem there. The last time that this fund had to pay out was in 1963. As the Minister has pointed out, in 1973 it ceased levying exporters of livestock to Britain because the fund had reached an acceptable level: £40,000 is deemed acceptable. Since then, even though no levies have been imposed on exporters, the amount in the insurance fund has gone to well over £100,000. It is deemed prudent, and rightly so, that this fund now be invested in the building owned by the company that the Minister has just wound up, the Exported Live Stock Insurance Board. The Minister is also providing that export charges payable under the Acts may be fixed by him by regulation from time to time, as is deemed necessary. The final inclusion in the Bill allows him the power of dissolution and of winding up the trustees board concerned, even though it is stated — and I would like to underline this — that there is no intention of doing so at the moment.
The live trade to Britain has taken a back seat to Third World exports in recent years. Traditionally, going back over the decades, Britain has been one of our main markets for our cattle, both store and beef. Indeed, in 1985 there was a reversal of the decline in the trend of exports to Britain for the first time in several years. The figures were up, particularly in June, July and August. Frankly, they are dictated by prices and with a very buoyant Third World market the exporters and producers had their eyes on that part of the world and not so much on Britain. For different reasons, such as the slackening of Third World trade in the middle part of 1985 and with the exchange rates and MCAs coming in their favour, there was an overnight pickup in exports to Britain. At the moment there is only one boat per fortnight going out of Greenore to Britain. There are ro-ro facilities in Dublin and Rosslare but for some time since the autumn these have not been overstretched, to put it mildly. Greenore is the only port at the moment which is engaged in active livestock export to Britain.
In June, July and August my local co-operative, County Wexford Marts, were involved in a tremendous increase in activity in livestock exports though Rosslare using the excellent ro-ro facilities that we have down there. The mart in Wexford provided the lairage facilities necessary for the exporters and this has proved a tremendous asset to farmers and exporters from the south east and southern parts of the country.
Rosslare traditionally was a very important export port to the southern part of England where they had a tradition of taking our store and beef cattle over the years. It is hoped that this trade will pick up again. The scene in the Middle East and the Third World is very volatile from month to month, let alone from year to year. It is very hard to know the position. Apart from the political climate in the countries out there, the trade depends to a large extent on the subvention from Europe as to whether it will continue to be viable. With the CAP and the difficulties that we all know about in that connection, the future could be uncertain, even though it is a very valuable market to us. If there should be any difficulties in the Third World, there would be an immediate increase in the activity of live cattle exports to Britain and it would be very necessary that this would happen, to have an outlet for what is generally an increasingly important beef herd in this country.
The super levy and all that has imposed on us concentrated our attentions on beef, even, may I say, beef specialisation in which traditionally this country has not taken a No. 1 role. We have produced beef cattle from our dairy herd with no specialisation at all, unlike many of our European partners. The general pattern of putting a continental bull on our dairy cow has continued and has served us very well, in latter years particularly.
The suckler premium, particularly the increase in the premium given to those in the disadvantaged areas, will encourage those who perhaps are not in dairying in a viable way to consider switching to a beef herd. It is hoped that Europe will increase incentives to make our beef herd viable. Single suckling and suckler herds generally have not proved economic over the years, but there has to be a future in this. This country, with our insular position which should make us relatively disease free, with our temperate climate and limestone grasslands, is an ideal part of Europe in which to produce these herds. I have repeated often and do so again that one of the premises for the setting up of the EC was that production would be concentrated in areas of greatest natural advantage. Where in Europe is there an area of greater advantage for beef production than in our country?
The importance of this Bill will be appreciated when we remember our insular position in regard to meat exports. We have had an excellent record in regard to foot-and-mouth disease and because of that our farmers, particularly younger farmers, are in the luxurious position that they give little thought to the problem of this disease — they never experienced it or felt the economic pinch caused by an outbreak.
However, EC regulations generally have been relaxed, our borders are becoming more open in regard to imports of dead and live meat and this means we will have to be increasingly vigilant. Even though only one boat a fortnight goes from Greenore, there is always the possibility that there will be an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain or elsewhere which would seal borders. The fund we are discussing this morning compensates exporters for any loss through slaughtering or detention at British ports preventing livestock from reaching their destination. Exporters will be fully compensated for that.
Such a fund proved to be an excellent servant to those involved in the sixties and back to the time when it was set up. I am delighted it has been decided to continue it lest it should ever be called into action. The likelihood of this is not great but one outbreak is sufficient to bring to our minds the dangers of foot-and-mouth.
Before 1940, all livestock exported to Britain were insured by British insurers and the late Paddy Hogan decided that Irish companies should have the benefit of any levies for insurance rather than have all the money go across the water. He initiated the Exported Livestock Insurance Board which was wound up a few months ago. They fulfilled a useful role and, with the Slaughtered Animals (Compensation) Act and the Detained Animals Act between 1928 and 1938, took care of all the insurance problems and other difficulties experienced at the time.
Recently we were issued with the CBF annual review for 1985 which gave us very succinctly the position in relation to live cattle exports, particularly to Britain, and it is very pertinent to this Bill. It would appear from the review that there has been an increase in exports to Britain, particularly in 1985, of live cattle. This is a reversal of the trend we have been experiencing for many years. We exported 16,000 head to Britain in 1985, a 68 per cent increase in the numbers exported in 1984. We hope that trend will continue. The fund before us and the insurance provided thereby could become all the more important. There is increasing attention in the EC to greater herd numbers. Here our beef cow numbers are rising slowly for the first time since the seventies, and even though growth is slow it will continue with the decline in the dairy herd, to be expected because of the super-levy.
All of us will be happy about the provisions of the Bill. I am delighted that we are to continue with the cover provided in the Slaughtered Animals Acts, pro tem, but I would urge the Minister, even though he has made provision for winding up this fund if it should become necessary, not to consider doing so because future exports to Britain will increase if we follow the pattern we have seen recently and particularly considering the volatility of the Third World market We have some excellent men operating as trustees on the compensation board, people such as Hugh Walsh, Dan Richardson, Con Horgan, John Cullen, Brendan Dukes and Patrick Lalor. They have done excellent work, and with the importance of the British market to Irish livestock exporters and the ever present threat of foot-and-mouth outbreaks and the damage that would do to us as an insular agricultural nation, the provisions being made this morning are very wise. All the trade will support the Minister in what he is doing.