This Bill would amend and extend certain provisions of the Agricultural Produce (Fresh Meat) Acts and the Pigs and Bacon Acts, both of which codes are concerned with regulating our meat export trade.
The contents of the Bill can be considered under four heads: First, it provides for the introduction of fresh meat classification at meat export premises. Secondly, it would replace the existing absolute ban on the breeding or keeping of coloured pigs with a more flexible arrangement. Thirdly, it provides for the collection of veterinary inspection fees at meat export plants on a monthly basis (instead of half-yearly, as at present) with effect from 1 July 1978. Fourthly, it provides for the possible employment of detention officers at meat export plants, subject to certain consultation with the Veterinary Council of Ireland.
Sections 2 and 3 of the Bill would enable the Minister for Agriculture by regulations to introduce meat classificatio tion on a mandatory basis. For the time being such regulations would apply only to carcase beef for export markets. In our circumstances, where we export more than 80 per cent of our beef, the classification of carcases is bound to benefit all sections of the industry, and in particular it should convey the preferences of overseas customers back, through the exporters, to the producers of the cattle.
The reaction of the various interests concerned since the Minister for Agriculture announced his intention of introducing a beef carcase classification scheme has been very encouraging. I think there is a general awareness that we are not producing the right kind of cattle for continental markets in particular. Our cattle and beef industry is worth over £500 million a year in exports and the benefits to be gained from increased prices in any industry of this size are obvious. We know that the preference in most exports markets is for a leaner type of animal than we have traditionally produced, and the beef carcase classification scheme will highlight this and will help to convince producers that better breeding and husbandary policies will yield significantly better returns.
The necessary preliminary work is in progress on the introduction of the scheme which it is hoped to have in operation early next year. It will apply to all cattle—steers, heifers, sows and bulls—slaughtered at meat export premises. It will be operated by specially trained classification officers employed by the Department of Agriculture and will be financed by the Exchequer. Classification has two main elements— confrontation and far score—and we envisage seven sub-categories of each, which is the type of scheme required to cover both the type of cattle produced here now and the kind we are likely to produce in the future. Other data—sex, age and weight—will be included in the information fed back to producers. The sole duty of classification officers will be to determine the conformation class and the fat class of every animals slaughtered at the meat export premises. There will be adequate supervision to ensure that standards are uniform at all plants. The price to be paid for cattle by the meat factory will remain, as it has always been, a matter between the factory and the producer, and the classification officer will have no function whatsoever in determining prices.
The scheme will relate to beef carcases and not to boneless beef. This is because, at the carcase stage, differences in conformation and fat cover are more easily observed and overseas customers can contract with confidence on the basis of classification. Boneless beef, on the other hand, is a different situation and introduces other elements, such as butchering skill and the degree of fat trimming, so it is best to leave meat factories and their customers to agree on their own specifications in this area.
Under the Pigs and Bacon (Amendment) Act, 1956 there is an absolute ban on the keeping or breeding of pigs of a colour other than all white. The present Bill would remove the absolute ban and the importation of coloured pigs can be allowed in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for Agriculture. There are no plans to allow the importation of coloured pigs at the present time, but the provision gives the Minister the option to allow their importation if he considers it justified at any time.
Sections 5, 6 and 7 would amend the various sections of earlier Acts relating to the collection of veterinary inspection fees at meat export plants by allowing for the collection of the fees on a monthly basis. The intention is to allow for a more regular flow of funds from the inspection fees. The receipts from these fees only cover part of the cost of the service. Under the present arrangement of half-yearly collection it is well into the new year before the fees for the preceding July are collected, which is a wholly unjustifiable situation nowadays. It should be emphasised that this provision does not entail any increase in the level of inspection fees: it simply requires the factories to pay them over rather more quickly than they must do at present. Since they must make provision for these fees from the time they buy the cattle this seems to me to involve no hardship.
Section 8 of the Bill, which relates to post mortem inspection by detention officers, is an enabling provision. Veterinary inspectors at meat export plants have a wide range of duties which, since our accession to the EEC, is becoming even wider. Throughput is increasing and new products are being developed. In these circumstances the role of the veterinary inspector has to be reappraised to ensure that routine work does not interfere with his performance of more important duties. The function of a detention officer would be to relieve the veterinary inspector of some of the routine inspection of carcases and viscera and allow for the better deployment of veterinary resources. The detention officers would have to be specially trained for the purpose, and section 8 requires the Minister to consult fully with the veterinary council regarding their training and qualifications. They would, of course, work under the supervision of the veterinary inspectors. Most other member states of the EEC, the USA and New Zealand use detention officers. As I have stated, this is an enabling provision and I do not want anyone to jump to conclusions about it. There are no plans to employ detention officers at the present time, and there will be frank and open consultation with the veterinary profession at the appropriate time should such plans emerge in the future.
I will be most interested to hear the views of Senators on the proposals contained in the Bill.
