Vol. 498 No. 5
14 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has directed that a more severe approach be taken to the grading of cattle slaughtered at meat processing premises; and, if so, if it is based on an instruction from the EU Commission. [27306/98]
The beef carcase classification scheme is based on EU legislation, which lays down the precise classification standards for carcasses and the checks required to ensure uniformity throughout each member state.
There have been no changes in these standards in recent times and I have not issued any direction that a changed approach should be taken to the grading of carcasses at slaughter plants.
My Department has invested considerable resources in the beef classification scheme and makes every effort to ensure uniform standards are applied across all meat premises in conformity with the EU regulations.
A comparison of the classification data for the period January to June 1998 with the period July to November 1998 shows that the variation in the percentage of cattle falling within the different grades on the EU beef classification scale is minimal. In addition, there has been no increase in the number of appeals from producers for a re-examination of the classification returns on cattle sold during this autumn period. Both of those factors serve to illustrate the point that there has been no change in classification standards by officers of my Department.
A major issue of concern in the beef industry in the past number of years has been the deterioration in carcase quality of our beef herd as measured on the classification grid. This has resulted mainly from the flat pricing system operated by processing plants and a change in the genetic composition of the breeding herd through the increased use of the poorer conformation Holstein dairy breed.
Arising from meetings between my Department and representatives of producers and processors, a graded pricing structure, where higher prices are being paid for the better grades, has been introduced. I am hopeful this will help to bring about a significant improvement in the quality of cattle produced and, eventually, lead to higher overall returns for Irish beef producers.
I wish to link what the Minister of State said to what the Minister said. I have got more complaints about lower grades than I have got for many years. This must have come to the notice of the Minister, the Ministers of State and Deputy Penrose. I cannot back up that with scientific data. I am not talking about the Holstein breed but about continental breeds. Farmers who are good at their jobs have found that they were awarded a few grades below the grade they got before or that they expected.
The Minister, Deputy Walsh, spoke of objectivity and subjectivity in the system. We either have a grid or we do not. This has nothing to do with the factories, departmental staff are responsible for grading. Can I take it that the Minister of State specifically said that he does not believe there has been any change in policy in this area over the past few months? How does he account for the widespread anger among farmers who believe that when things got tight at the factories and problems arose, the grades suffered? What type of interservice business has the Minister of State with the graders? What type of consistency operates among the graders? Does that gel with what happens in Europe? Something went wrong with the grading system over the past two months.
I assure the Deputy that all the officers involved in grading undergo an intensive training programme and proficiency test before they are authorised as classification officers. They are also subject to strict supervision. I am not aware of any irregularity or change in the grading standards, but the process is carried out by human beings. A new system has been introduced in Denmark and officers of the Department of Agriculture and Food and the industry have visited Denmark to observe that hi-tech grading system in operation, but I cannot confirm that we will introduce that system here. I will not give the Deputy the table of figures for the classification results because they are complicated and the Deputy might not be able to follow their trend, but I will make them available to him. He is correct in stating that a flat pricing system has crept in over the past four or five years.
That is a bad business.
Yes, but the Deputies opposite were in office for some of those years.
The Minister of State should not be political.
It cannot all be attributed to this side of the House.
Deputies should allow the Minister of State to continue without interruption.
Flat pricing was introduced and it has led to a deterioration in quality and standards. If we are to have a quality product that will sell in the market in the future, we must have a graded product of the highest quality. The Deputy is well aware of the problems in the beef industry where there is virtually a million tonnes of an overhang in the European market. We slaughter approximately 1.5 million animals and there are peaks and valleys in that sector.
Will the Minister of State comment on the grades?
I am speaking about the grades. We also have a high percentage of dairy cattle. In recent years there has been an increase in inseminations for Freisan and Holstein breeds. Last year or the year before 46 per cent of inseminations were from those breeds. That has also led to a deterioration. The Deputies opposite are aware that the basis of our beef industry ten years ago was a dual purpose animal, but we have moved away from that to more refined and better blood lines in dairy and beef animals. That is where part of the problem arises.
Will the Minister of State outline the appeals mechanism available to farmers? I know a farmer who would be interested in that. He had 25 Charolais cattle, 11 of which were sold on 25 August for £8,836.95 and seven of them were U grades. He kept the remainder of those cattle — the better ones — for eight weeks, fed them with barley rations and subsequently sold them for £9,313, and none of them were U grades. Does the Minister accept that is a huge difference? The best midlands cattle one could get were fed with barley ration and concentrates seven or eight weeks later. I appreciate there is an element of subjectivity; some of the classification officers are colleagues of mine. Will the Minister outline the appeals system available to that farmer who got only £1 extra at the factory than he got at Mullingar mart a week later for 100 kilograms more?
I am not a nutritionist but grass does not have a high protein content in the autumn, so animal feed would need to be balanced with another type of protein, such as barley. Animals get fat when they get too much carbohydrate. Good quality animals need good nutrition.
This is not any farmer but one who knows his work.
In 1994 15 per cent of the animals were graded as U, while to date in 1998 only 6 per cent are graded as U. There is an appeals system in place which is not widely used. Animals spend 24 hours in slaughter and then they can be moved immediately. We will look at any specific case of which the Deputy is aware.
Factories should inform farmers that they have only 24 hours to make an appeal against the classification system. Farmers do not know that and it is too late when they do so three days later. The Minister has given the House important information which he should ask the factories to publicise as it might solve the problem.
I will take on board the Deputy's comments about publicising this information. We are aware of the anger and frustration of farmers in the beef sector because of the drop in prices. However, Deputies must remember we have the highest number of beef animals ever, at eight million. That is a great tribute to the farmers and to Governments over the years.
There are no prices for them.
I wish we could sell them.
I know a farmer in south Galway who refused to take 74p a pound from a factory for Charolais cattle and who was offered 76p three days later. There is something wrong with that system.
On behalf of my colleagues, I wish the Minister and the two Ministers of State a happy Christmas and I ask him to convey our good wishes to the staff in the Department of Agriculture and Food.
I will deal with the Deputy's complaint about pricing if he submits it to me in writing. The Minister stated that we do not fix prices; we are the regulatory authority. We live in a free market.
The Minister is washing his hands of the problem.
I am not washing my hands of it. The Department adopts a hands-on approach.
It has been a bad year.
We are conscious of the problems and we understand the frustration of farmers.
I thank Deputy Connaughton for his good wishes. I have not received accolades of any kind in recent months, so I will pass them on directly to the staff, particularly those who worked hard in Hume House and looked after all the Deputies.
