I move:
That Seanad Éireann condemns the Government for its failure to open up the live export trade for cattle as promised by its spokesperson in opposition and as part of its election manifesto.
I beg indulgence as this is the first time I have spoken in the House. I welcome Minister of State Davern to the House as a constituency colleague. I am delighted he is here as I move my first motion as spokesman on agriculture. I want this debate to be constructive and useful. I hope the Minister will take on board the points I have to make.
Agriculture is the backbone of the economy and, despite the dwindling number of farmers will continue to be into the next millennium. There are approximately 140,000 people dependent on the land for a living, and thousands more working in related industries. I am sorry to say that Minister Walsh has taken very little interest in the Egyptian market, our single greatest market for live cattle. Deputy Yates had got an agreement in principle to reopen the Egyptian market, but Minister Walsh has completely failed to follow up and finalise the deal. What happened then? The Egyptians demanded £5 million from Ireland to build an abattoir to remove specified risk material when slaughtering Irish cattle. When the Opposition and the farm organisations raised a number of issues about the failure to open the live export trade, Minister Walsh belatedly took steps to do something about it. The Egyptians only agreed to take a trial load of Irish cattle. Furthermore I understand the planned shipment of 2,000 cattle is unlikely to go ahead. This is just another example of PR tactics. Farmers should not be deceived by such antics.
The Coalition Government stands condemned for its failure to date to reopen the vital outlets for live cattle to third countries and European markets. The live shipping trade is crucial to the survival of many thousands of farmers. As a store cattle producer myself, nobody knows better how crucial this sector of farming is to Irish farmers. Many farmers do not have the option of wintering cattle and depend on the autumn sales for the major part of their income. This year that appears to be in tatters with the current price of roughly 83 pence being paid by factories in most of the country. There is a complete contrast between the very easy going approach of Deputy Walsh as Minister for Agriculture and Food and his approach when in Opposition, where his statements could easily have been described as bullish. The delay is costing farmers and the economy money. The autumn disposal of cattle needs all market outlets to be operational. The lack of competition is leading to a slow drop in the price of cattle. We are an exporting economy and 80 per cent of agricultural output must find a market outside of Ireland. It is unacceptable live exports to fellow member states of the EU are not taking place. Furthermore the risk of overrunning our premier quota for ten and 22 months cattle underlines the urgency of supplying high Irish price EU markets with live cattle, particularly in the weaning trade which is so vital to many of our smaller farmers at this time of the year . There is always weak buying when there is lack of competition. Most people will agree with that. The Egyptian market for Irish cattle is vital for the trade at the moment. However, the failure by Minister Walsh to speedily conclude arrangements for live exports to Egypt is a disgrace.
The Minister went on a high profile visit to Cairo, accompanied by the Department secretary and the Chief Veterinary Officer. This exercise failed to open the market and was clearly undertaken for the optics. If the Egyptian market alone were open we could export 100,000 live cattle that could be sold between now and the end of the year. There are 700,000 cattle to be disposed of between now and December 31. The only market is the meal factory.
Through tough negotiation, Deputy Yates secured £75 million for Irish livestock farmers to cushion the blow of 1996. What is Minister Walsh doing to cushion the blow of this year's price disaster? I would like to know, indeed demand, that Minister Walsh, or Minister of State Davern on his behalf, commits himself in this House by getting at least £80 million from the EU for the coming year on top of the existing subsidies to compensate for the price disaster that exists, especially in view of the failure to open up the live cattle trade.