asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state the number of calves slaughtered in Saorstát Eireann between January 1st and June 30th, 1936, and the amount of money paid by the State for the skins of the said calves.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Slaughter of Calves.
It is not possible to state the number of calves slaughtered in the period mentioned in the Deputy's question. The bounty scheme on calf skins exported this year was in operation during the period 1st April to 30th May, inclusive, and a total sum of £80,262 was paid as bounty on 160,524 calf skins.
Is the Minister aware that, owing to this enormous slaughter of calves, there is now a shortage of suckling calves in the country, and that the price has gone up to a high level?
Dr. Ryan
It was to be expected that by getting rid of a certain number of those rather useless calves, the price of cattle would be improved.
Yes, but did the Minister expect that the price of suckling calves would go up to an uneconomic figure for the purchaser, and does the Minister think that by reducing the number of calves in the country he is going to help the industry for the future, or to ruin it by having an insufficient number of Irish cattle to stock Irish land?
Dr. Ryan
The Deputy is unreasonable, because when the prices were lower he also called it an uneconomic level.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, did I understand him to say that it was necessary to get rid of a certain number of useless calves?
Dr. Ryan
Yes.
Arising out of that reply, I should like to ask if, after all the improvements in the live stock, we are still breeding useless calves?
Dr. Ryan
Yes.
That is knowledge to every man in this country.
Dr. Ryan
It may be knowledge to the Deputy.
Might I ask who decided whether a calf was useful or useless?
Dr. Ryan
The owner.
Not the Department?
Dr. Ryan
No—the owner.
Was it because he could not get an economic price for the calf, owing to the policy of the Government, that the calf became useless?
Dr. Ryan
I am getting a bit mixed up in economic prices, because Deputy Fitzgerald-Kenney used the term in another way. It is well known to all Deputies that the owners may decide whether it pays them better to slaughter the calves at this price or to rear them.
That does not say there was any inherent defect in the calf. It is because he could not get a price that it would not pay the farmer to rear the calf.
Dr. Ryan
That was always the case.
And Senator Connolly was tearing down in a day the market it took 100 years to build up!