asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries what steps he proposes to take to stop the decline in pig numbers indicated by a forty per cent drop in in-pig gilts.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Pig Numbers.
32.
While the January livestock enumeration shows a substantial decline in the number of gilts in pig, the decline is less marked in the case of sows in pig and other sows for breeding.
As I indicated in reply to a question by Deputy Donegan on 10th February, some fluctuations in pig numbers ordinarily take place from year to year and while pig supplies for the current year as a whole are expected to be somewhat below the record high level of last year, I have every confidence in the future of the industry.
Has the Minister addressed his mind to the increasing complexity of the regulations relating to grades, which have been added to at frequent intervals until now it is very difficult for even the most sophisticated farmer to determine how a pig is graded at a factory?
We did adjust the grades recently to try to make them less complicated, but I am afraid that the requirements of the market and consumer demand make it difficult to get away from fairly exact and precise grading stipulations.