asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if meat was purchased from intervention stores by Irish concerns, the dates and quality of these purchases; and the use made of them.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Intervention Beef Products.
10.
I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate with the Official Report a statement of the purchases of Irish intervention beef by Irish concerns. Information as to the use made of the meat is not available to my Department but it is believed that the vast bulk of the quantity purchased was subsequently resold on export markets.
Following is the statement:
PURCHASES of Irish Intervention Beef by Irish concerns.
(metric tons)
|
Bone-in Beef |
Boneless Beef |
|
|
1974: |
||
|
October |
28 |
63 |
|
November |
— |
— |
|
December |
734 |
|
|
1975: |
||
|
January |
550 |
— |
|
February |
— |
301 |
|
March |
— |
47 |
|
April |
662 |
692 |
|
May |
358 |
975 |
|
June |
6 |
1,230 |
|
July |
1,400 |
403 |
|
August |
550 |
282 |
|
September |
95 |
1,936 |
|
October |
500 |
2,743 |
Can the Minister confirm or deny the allegation that has been made that large quantities of Irish beef, having been put into intervention storage in Ireland by Irish firms, were subsequently purchased by the same firms from intervention at a very large discount and thereafter sold to third countries against an export refund? Is not this the sharpest of sharp practice?
I do not think there is anything wrong about this. I think we are unnecessarily putting our processors in the dock. Any country was free to buy this beef out of intervention and if an Irish processor gets a benefit that any European processor would get why deny it to him? In the long run, will not these benefits come back to Irish producers in the main?
Does the Minister not realise that a large proportion of our Irish meat processing trade is said to be co-operative——
That is right.
——and that the cattle which were produced by the Irish farmers were purchased at a price in or about intervention price? Thereafter, the farmers' co-operatives traded, presumably on the farmers' behalf, but did any of the profits go back to the producers? I can tell the Minister that not one single penny did.
I have just come from a meeting of the committees of agriculture and they say that quite a bit of it is going back at present That is the general view held.
In what form?
In higher prices.