asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the serious situation arising from a lack of cattle supplies to a firm (details supplied) in Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
31.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Diminished Cattle Supplies.
30.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the very grave concern of both management and staff of a firm (details supplied) in County Tipperary in respect of the future employment prospects in that company; if he is also aware that (a) the company is at present on a three day working week, (b) the present intake of raw material has been reduced by 50 per cent approximately and (c) 20 per cent of the work force is being laid off; and if he will now indicate the plans he has in the short, medium and long term to rectify and stabilise this unsatisfactory position.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 31 together.
The first of these firms is a beef export factory and the second obtains much of its raw material from beef export factories. As slaughterings at all beef factories recently have been well down on the corresponding period last year supplies of raw material to the second firm have inevitably been affected.
Slaughterings at meat factories are likely to be seasonally low over the next month or two but the seasonal upturn in throughput will then take place. The supply position of the beef factories should also be helped by the elimination of the variable premium advantage enjoyed by factories in Northern Ireland, which I secured in the recent prices package.
In the longer term the solution to the supply difficulties of the beef factories and related industries lies in a significant expansion in cattle production, the achievement of which is a major aim of my Department's policy and is being helped by the various measures taken by the Government and the EEC since last autumn.
Is the Minister aware that Clover Meats Limited have serious financial problems and that his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Lorcan Allen, gave a commitment to the County Committee of Agriculture of Waterford recently that the finance for the running of Clover Meats Limited was secured for the next two years? Can the Minister reiterate that commitment here and say the extent of the commitment to ensure that Clover Meats will continue to operate in Waterford, Wexford and in Tipperary?
I have no information in relation to the alleged statement of Deputy Allen but Clover Meats are like all other meat processing factories, suffering from the scarcity of supplies at present. We expect a pretty significant upturn in throughput in the next couple of months. The Government have introduced a considerable range of measures, the suckler scheme, the in-calf heifer scheme and so on and all those measures on top of the prices agreement this year should restore confidence to the point where cattle numbers will dramatically increase in the fairly near future. There is no way in which we can have a miracle on this. Deputies know the cycle it takes to have sufficient quantities of beef and the overall picture is that factories will not be back to full production in some cases for some time to come. In relation to Clover Meats the Deputy is aware that they have been in consultation with my Department over a considerable period and that the Government and my Department have come to their assistance on a number of occasions.
The last Government did.
So did this Government. Precise amounts have not been requested but if the Deputy tables a question to that effect I will give him that information. The general commitment of the Government is evidenced by the finance provided over a long period.
Is the Minister aware that the Minister of State, Deputy Allen, stated categorically that an agreement had been reached by the Government and Clover Meats to ensure that the finance necessary for the continued operation of the company for the next two years was guaranteed and would be forthcoming from the Government? Is that a fact or not?
I would have expected the Deputy, if he was in need of that information, to adopt the normal procedure to extract it. The Deputy has not sought to do that in his question.
I am very disappointed with the Minister's reply to my Question No. 31 in which I asked for specific details of his intentions in the short, medium and long-term to rectify the very unsatisfactory position of the firm of Messrs. Robert Wilson and Sons of Cahir. His reply gives no ray of hope for the continuing employment of both management and staff. I checked with the firm less than half an hour ago and the details are that in January there were 140 employed in this firm. That has now been reduced to 118 and ten or 12 more are facing redundancy. They are on a three-day week and the prospects of reverting to a five-day week are very slim. They see no hope of reverting to it for the remainder of this year. The weekly intake at maximum peak production of raw material was 1,600 to 2,000 tonnes of raw material. This is now reduced to 650 tonnes per week. Will the Minister outline and specify exactly what aids and subsidies, financial or otherwise, he or his Government will give to this firm to ensure the continued employment of both management and staff?
As the Deputy will be aware, at this time of year it is not abnormal to have a drop in the supplies of beef to our factories. As the factory in which the Deputy is interested is directly involved in purchasing products from the main meat factories, they are affected by the present scarcity. Every year at this time we have this element of seasonality. This year it is more emphasised because of the increase last year in the total slaughtering.
We have taken a number of steps, which I do not wish to re-emphasise as they have been included in my answer to Deputy Collins, which will significantly improve the position. But there is no miracle by which the problem can be eradicated immediately. If the Deputy has any proposals — and they were fairly absent in a recent debate on agriculture in this house — I would be glad to consider them.
I am quite aware, as the Minister is, of the element of seasonality, but this seasonality is continuing throughout the whole year. The measures, which are very nebulous and vague and which the Minister likes to trot out before us, may perhaps in the long term at the end of a three-year term bear some fruit. However, I am worried about the immediate, the short and medium term. What hope can the Minister give, representing the Government of all the brains and talents, to the management and staff of the firm I have mentioned of their continuing employment?
I am as concerned as the Deputy about the question of redundancies in that sector. Because of that, as a general form of confidence, the measures I have outlined have been introduced. However, there is no way in which one can put on our fields sufficient numbers of cattle immediately to meet all those requirements. We are determined to do all we can to ensure that the throughput is increased as quickly as possible. I have no doubt that the measures I have outlined will do that. It very often appears that every fine day, no matter how fine it is, is replaced by a wet day as far as Fine Gael are concerned.
They are all wet days for us.
Finally, arising out of the Minister's reply——
There is thunder and lightning now.
Thundering Zeus.
——is the Minister aware that the policies of the present Government have resulted in the destocking by farmers of cow stocks by 20 per cent in 1980? Would he not accept that there is a failure of Government policy in regard to cattle population? Directly in relation to Question No. 30, would the Minister not accept that the question I put down specified quite clearly the nature of the situation, which is serious, and that means financially, and that the Minister's reply tried to avoid that aspect of my question?
I feel that the Deputy tried to avoid putting into the question what he really wanted to extract from it.
No.
I do not accept that Government policies have led to a drop in cattle numbers.
The Minister can hardly blame Fine Gael for that.
I can give the Deputy statistics from a number of other countries in the EEC where a drop in cattle numbers has been experienced.
It was never for four years.
I can give the House the statistics for the other EEC countries.
Who is to blame?
I do not accept that it is Government policy which has led to this situation. I can give statistics for EEC countries, Denmark and others.
Who is to blame for last year's levels?
The total slaughterings in 1975 were 1.4 million, in 1979 they were 1.17 million and last year they were 1.3 million. In the past ten years, the year in which the greatest haemorrhage took place was in 1975.
Will the Minister not accept that the CBF in their annual report stated that the destocking of cattle had led to the position where the numbers were now down to the pre-EEC level of 1972?
Worse than when they started.
(Interruptions.)
(Cavan-Monaghan): The biggest thing Fianna Fáil got out of the EEC was the Junior Minister.
He was a potential by-election problem.
As a final supplementary, would the Minister not agree that the position these firms find themselves in is a direct result of the disastrous policies of the Government and that time and time again the Government were warned from these benches that the present position would arise? The Minister gives no hope to the staff of this particular firm. It is a question of "live cow and you will get grass".
I guarantee that all these men will be gainfully employed in their present positions within a very short time.
Question No. 32.
I want to ask a supplementary question.
I have allowed a long debate on this.
I have not been allowed a supplementary question and I have been very patient.
I am not concerned about that, Deputy. The Deputy is aware of the fact that I permit a certain number of supplementary questions. I have allowed far more than usual on those two questions.
I have not been allowed one supplementary question.
I will allow the Deputy a very brief supplementary.
I will be brief. Is the Minister aware that the slaughterings of cows for the year 1980 were 480,000 and is he further aware that that is the main reason why there is not sufficient supply of material for these factories? Is he further aware that this will have a terrible impact on our meat industry for the next two or three years?
I am aware that the total number of cow slaughterings in 1980 was 475,000. I am also aware that the cow slaughterings in 1975 were 590,000.
I did not ask the Minister about 1975. I asked about 1980. Would the Minister answer the question I asked?
Would the Minister please reply to Question No. 32?
The Minister is not reading the CBF reports.