There was no commitment given by my Department that officials would attend an IFA public meeting on sheepmeat in Portlaoise on 25 February. The position is that the IFA did not invite my officials to attend this meeting until Monday 23 February. Because of other commitments it was not possible at that late stage to provide a speaker to attend the meeting. I should point out that there were comprehensive discussions on the problems of the sheepmeat sector on Wednesday 25 February at the first meeting of the Sheepmeat Forum which, of course, included representatives of my Department and the farming organisations.
I am fully aware of the current market difficulties in the sheepmeat sector which are due to a large extent on the overhang of lamb on the market, particularly in the UK. In response to representations which I made to the EU Commission, a scheme of aid for private storage was agreed by the Sheepmeat Management Committee on 6 March. The objective of this scheme is to take up to 150,000 1997 season lambs off the market in Ireland and the UK over the next six weeks. This should allow the market to regain equilibrium before the 1998 season spring lambs become available. I am confident that this measure, if fully availed of by the factories, will play a significant part in restoring market confidence to the sector.
