Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Jul 1991

Vol. 410 No. 4

Written Answers. - Safety Net Intervention.

Gay Mitchell

Question:

16 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Godfrey Timmins

Question:

19 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

John Bruton

Question:

23 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

P. J. Sheehan

Question:

25 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Enda Kenny

Question:

33 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Brendan McGahon

Question:

34 Mr. McGahon asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Michael Lowry

Question:

36 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Theresa Ahearn

Question:

41 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Michael Finucane

Question:

42 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

William Cotter

Question:

43 Mr. Cotter asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

50 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food whether there will be a special new provision in regard to beef safety net intervention whereby individual member states would be allowed to introduce safety net intervention when the local price fell below 72 per cent of the intervention price.

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. O'Kennedy)

I propose taking Questions Nos. 16, 19, 23, 25, 33, 34, 36, 41, 42, 43 and 50 together.

The arrangements for safety net intervention in the beef sector were amended in the recent EC prices agreement. The Commission's original proposals had envisaged abolition of this safeguard. The package as finally agreed by Council, however, provided for the continuation of a safety net system. The revised arrangements include a new and exceptional provision whereby beef intervention can also be opened where particularly difficult price situations arise in a single member state. Such a situation would be deemed to obtain where the market price falls under 72 per cent of the intervention price in one member state and where the average Community market price is below 78 per cent of the intervention level. The old safety net arrangements did not contain any single member state trigger but relied on one which required the particular price situation to prevail in at least three member states or regions. The new safety net regime also provides for the Council to take urgent intervention measures in exceptional cases such as a serious market crisis.

The reduction in normal intervention triggers will now be limited to 4 percentage points rather than the 8 points originally sought by the Commission. This, together with the preservation of safety net intervention, represents a very considerable achievement in my view and is, in the circumstances obtaining at present, the best outcome that might realistically have been hoped for.

The move away from the standard payment system for safety net intervention to a system based on market prices has given rise to a need to fix processing margins for beef factories. Originally the Commission had proposed 3 ECU/100 kg and eventually they fixed the amount at 6 ECU/100 kg.

We regard this as inadequate in Irish conditions but practically all other members states consider it over generous so there is little prospect of having it increased. At present my Department, the farm organisations and the meat factories are involved in discussions aimed at achieving a means of ensuring that price stability is maintained under the new system.