Carcass trimming and farm payments
Charlie McConalogue asks that factories be named and shamed for over-trimming carcasses and docking farmers’ payments. The Minister for Agriculture says farmers are entitled to know which factories are involved and will be compensated, though individual notification will come from the factory concerned.
My question relates to another matter.
Comment on this
This is a question for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine regarding the issue of carcass trimming by beef factories. I raised it with him last week and he undertook to ensure that factories will offer recompense to farmers where this has happened. Will he give an assurance that those factories which are found to have over-trimmed carcasses, and therefore deducted unfairly from farmers in terms of their final payments, will be named and shamed and that they will be held to account by him for these unfair practices?
Comment on this
I may be a little biased, and have been known to be, but I firmly believe that my constituency of Cork South-West is the most beautiful and scenic in the country. The Wild Atlantic Way offers a lifeline to many people. As the Taoiseach is probably aware, a review of the Wild Atlantic Way is due to take place in February. People in west Cork have some concerns that all the areas currently included will not be included in the review, particularly the peninsula from Courtmacsharry to Clonakilty, about which there is great concern. What efforts will be made to ensure that all these areas will be included in the review?
Comment on this
I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to be brief in his response to the question on agriculture.
Comment on this
I thank Deputy McConalogue for raising this issue. In respect of any carcasses that have been excessively trimmed, the farmers involved are entitled to know the identity of the factories concerned. As the Deputy will be aware from our engagement on this matter last Thursday, in the context of the ultimate accountability and the naming of those factories to farmers, any individual farmer where a carcass has been identified as having been excessively trimmed will be notified by that factory of that matter and duly compensated for it.