asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries how EEC regulations are affecting egg production in this country.
20.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Egg Production.
19.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will make a statement on the restrictions imposed by the EEC egg marketing directive on the selling of eggs by ordinary farmers direct to shops and other retail outlets; and the representations, if any, made by the Government to the EEC before or after the adoption of the directive.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 20 together.
The EEC egg marketing regulations provide that all eggs sold in retail shops must be graded for quality and weight by packing centres authorised to carry out this work. Thus, producers, who are not authorised as packing centres may not sell their eggs to shops unless, of course, the shops are so authorised. An exemption from the regulations allows such producers to sell their eggs ungraded direct to consumers at farm gate, in a local public market or by door to door selling.
The regulations were made in 1968 and were implemented here on this country's accession to the EEC. The purpose of the regulations is to improve quality, thereby facilitating sale and to protect the consumer. These aims are achieved by fixing standards which relate to grading by quality and weight, packing, labelling, marking, etc. In the negotiations leading to accession it was considered undesirable to seek exemption to allow sales by producers direct to shops as this would tend to defeat the purpose of the regulations. Instead I am doing everything possible to allow producers, regardless of size, to sell their eggs in conformity with the regulations. Indeed, many small producers, unable to avail of the exemption open to them, who live remote from packing centres or who wish to sell direct to shops are considered for authorisation even when their throughput is small. The expense of becoming authorised as a packing centre is relatively insignificant. In addition, in many areas shops are being authorised as packing centres.
I am satisfied that allowing for normal cyclic fluctuations, EEC regulations are not significantly affecting egg production in this country.
Am I to take it that the Minister has said that any small producer of eggs must now send them to a packing station to be graded and that it is not possible for him to get permission to do so at home? Is it correct that he cannot, therefore, sell direct to an ordinary shopkeeper at the moment?
You can sell your eggs to an ordinary shopkeeper if that shopkeeper agrees to become a packing and grading centre which involves him in extremely little expense. No fewer than something like 650 such centres have already been agreed.
Are the 650 centres spread all over the country, for example in isolated places where small producers of eggs used to go to the shops?
I am afraid I cannot answer the Deputy's question in that regard but even a very small producer can himself become a grading and packing centre. I said it would cost less than £5 in reply to a previous question.
Did I understand the Minister to say that it was possible to get exemption if living in a very remote area?
No, it is not possible to get exemption. We are doing everything possible short of exemption to enable small producers to sell eggs in the normal way. They are free to sell direct to consumers in country markets and various places like that.
The Minister kindly answered a question I had put down on this matter last week but does he not realise that even the small outlay of £5 means selling about 250 dozen eggs per year at a profit of 2p per dozen to cover this expense and that a very small shop is not in a position to——
I think I made the figure higher than the actual cost; I wanted to be certain.