Gabhaim buíochas libh as ucht an cuireadh teacht go dtí an Seanad. Ba mhaith liom Nollaig shona a ghuí oraibh go léir.
I am taking this Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney. I thank the Senator for raising the issue of markets abroad.
The priority of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and its agencies is to support the beef sector through its efforts to open new markets for Irish beef and to ease the conditions of import in markets which are already open. These efforts have yielded a number of positive results in countries such as South Africa, Tunisia, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Egypt in the past year or so. In this context, the Senator will also be aware that market access for beef was at the heart of Minister's visits earlier this year to China and the United States and that the Department is proactively engaged with a range of third countries in an effort to open markets. That being said, the Department will continue to treat the question of market access, both for beef and for live animals, as a priority.
We will and are continuing to facilitate live exports which it is acknowledged offer cattle price competition and serve a real market demand. The live export trade provides alternative market outlets for cattle producers. There are two main components to the live export trade, namely, calf shipments to the Continent and the movement of forward stores and finished cattle to the United Kingdom. Data for the period from January to date in 2012 show that overall live exports reached some 155,000 head. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 70,094, while those to Italy, the Netherlands and Spain - the main continental markets - stand at 80,770. While the figures for the UK market represent an increase of 4%, the exports to continental EU countries are down some 40% on 2011. This is due simply to economic factors. The slower live export trade reflects the higher prices being paid by domestic beef producers.
The Senator raises the issue of live cattle to the Libyan and Egyptian markets. I am pleased to say these markets are open to Irish cattle insofar as the veterinary certification that is the fundamental prerequisite has been agreed. The question of when trade will begin is dependent on a number of factors, including commercial factors such as price and demand and the availability and cost of suitable sea transport. Other non-EU countries open to cattle from Ireland and to which trade is taking place are Kazakhstan, Morocco and Tunisia.
The Egyptian market is open to fattening cattle under 20 months and to slaughter cattle less than 30 months. I pay tribute to the efforts of Ambassador Moylan in securing this good outcome.
The Libyan market is currently open to fattening and slaughter male cattle under 24 months. However, the Department has been endeavouring to have this age limit increased to 30 months in response to requests from interested exporters, and has submitted a certificate to allow for this for counter signature to the Libyan authorities. We await final confirmation on this and our diplomatic services in Rome are doing everything they can to expedite the matter. Our ambassador in Rome met senior Ministers in Libya earlier this week and raised with them the outstanding responses regarding the health certificates in the cattle sector. They indicated that they saw no particular difficulty and undertook to respond within a short period. In terms of promoting trade with Libya, they stressed that this was now mainly in private hands and, of course, such trade is always commercial.
Even though the necessary veterinary certification is in place, there remains the question of suitable sea transport. The Department has made every effort to facilitate ship approval and is hopeful a ship will be approved early in the new year. Three potential boats have been applied for and one application is at a more advanced stage. The current plan is that the boat, currently in Istanbul, will arrive in Waterford for reinspection on or around mid-January.
Ireland has a strict system of transport rules in respect of both national and international journeys.
The current Irish regulations on the approval of ships for livestock transport set a high standard, higher than that which applies in other EU member states. These regulations were introduced in 1996, following a comprehensive review of this area, in response to a series of major difficulties that arose with livestock shipments from Ireland at that time. Our policy since has been that given the potential risks associated with live shipments from Ireland, it is necessary for Ireland to maintain these high standards. I reassure the House that the Department is continuing all its efforts to secure markets abroad for our valuable cattle industry, be it in live trade or beef. Live exports continue to be an important outlet for Irish cattle, providing an essential element of competition with the beef trade.
