A Fianna Fáil senator has called on Sinn Féin to clarify its position on the Irish dairy sector after a party member’s comments on the export of milk powders.
Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action debate on the Climate Action Plan, Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan questioned Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue on the issue.
“The government encourages Irish mothers and women living in Ireland to feed their children by breast feeding. That is a high priority and financial resources have been put into that,” Senator Boylan said.
“How do we square that with the fact that Ireland increasingly is becoming a large supplier of powdered milk to the global south and to China? They do not have the same protections around advertising there.”
Minister McConalogue said that “it is important that everything is marketed responsibly everywhere”.
“Obviously we can only control what we do in our country but what we do here in our country is produce the safest, best quality and most nutritious dairy products, including infant formula products as well,” he said.
Concerns about marketing and exporting infant formula milk were also raised by Sinn Féin TD Réada Cronin, Independent Senator Alice-Mary Higgins and Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly.
Dairy sector
In the wake of the comments, Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley wants Sinn Féin to clarify the party’s position on the matter.
“Exports of Irish milk powders for 2022 totalled €3 billion. Is it Sinn Féin’s position that we should change our approach to exporting milk powders and threaten farmers and producers within the industry.
“The Irish dairy sector is going from strength to strength and exports of milk powders make up a vast proportion of this,” he said.
“Sinn Féin must clarify if [it] is their position that we shouldn’t be supporting the Irish dairy sector and exports of milk powder.
“Irish dairy is one of the safest and highest-quality dairy products in the world and as a result is in huge demand worldwide.
“Irish dairy farmers have the full backing of Fianna Fáil and this government and it isn’t good enough for Sinn Féin to be speaking out of both sides of their mouth when it comes to supporting Irish dairy farmers,” Senator Dooley said.
Figures from Bord Bia show that Irish dairy exports in 2022 were valued at €6.8 billion.
Of this, specialised nutritional powders accounted for €730 million; fat-filled milk powders were worth €920 million; skimmed milk powders totalled €560 million; while casein powders exports stood at €790 million.