Peadar Clohessy
Question:37 Mr. Clohessy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the total expenditure on the butter voucher scheme for each of the years 1990 to 1994. [3194/95]
Written Answers. - Butter Voucher Scheme Expenditure.
Expenditure on the EU funded social assistance butter scheme for the years in question, is as follows:
|
Year |
Expenditure |
|
(IR£) |
|
|
1989-90 |
8,234,000 |
|
1990-91 |
8,648,000 |
|
1991-92 |
8,751,000 |
|
1992-93 |
10,004,000 |
|
1993-94 |
10,364,000 |
Gerard C. Connolly
Question:38 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the proposals, if any, he has to deal with the crisis in the pig industry. [3483/95]
James Leonard
Question:44 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the steps, if any, he is taking to ensure the continuance of pig production as a family farm enterprise in view of the drop in profitability over the last year. [2421/95]
Brendan Smith
Question:48 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the measures, if any, he will introduce to assist the pig industry. [3432/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 44 and 48 together.
I am fully committed to ensuring that the pig industry and the family pig farm continue in production and am determined to take whatever action is necessary to achieve this. The underlying cause of the low pigmeat prices is overproduction in the European Union as a whole, which is about 105 per cent self-sufficient at present.
There are some encouraging signs however. The European Union pig breeding herd showed a 3 per cent decrease overall in 1994 and this will have the effect of cutting back on supplies.There are forecasts that pig prices will stablise in the first quarter of 1995, and will rise in the second quarter of the year. In fact Irish prices have begun to improve over the past two weeks.
I have already taken a number of measures to address the difficulties of the pig sector. Arrangements are now in place whereby producers will have to pay a net 25p less in the levies chargeable.I have also set up a committee in my Department, with representation from Teagasc to identify areas in the sector where costs, including feed costs, can be reduced and the industry made more competitive. An Bord Bia are in the process of drawing up a programme for the promotion of pigmeat on the domestic and export market.
In January 50,000 tonnes of Irish intervention barley was released onto the market. The balance of intervention stock, 70,300 tonnes of barley, is due for release next week from Irish intervention stores. This will be of help to pig producers.
At European Union level following representations to the Commission which I made at the Council of Ministers of Agriculture meeting last month, an aids to private storage scheme was introduced for the pigmeat sector on 6 February. Under this scheme 70,000 tonnes of pigmeat will be put into storage for a period of three months and this should help to bring greater buoyancy to prices.