Ensuring the economic welfare of beef farmers "requires a whole-of-government approach because it touches on issues such as justice, financial exploitation and competition law", according to a rural independent TD.

Today (Wednesday, May 26), deputy Carol Nolan and her independent rural TD colleagues brought forward the Independent Beef Regulator private members motion.

Deputy Nolan emphasised that the motion is not directed at one department only, but at the government as a whole.

The motion seeks for the government to "accept that existing regulatory and competition protections have proven themselves to be manifestly inadequate", among other things.

Today, the public consultation on the primary legislation needed to establish a new Office of a National Food Ombudsman or regulator closes.

The rural independents in their motion are calling on the government to “accept that a national food ombudsman will not be able to give the kind of specific sectoral focus needed to identify and address the chronic price challenges imposed on farmers by the beef industry”.

Deputy Nolan said they want a "regulatory body with proper statutory powers capable of compelling audits on Meat Industry Ireland factories and making enforceable recommendations to that industry".

"We want a regulatory body that the industry cannot just choose to ignore or engage with as it sees fit," the deputy said.

"We are told this new office will have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland. This is exactly what the department and Bord Bia already do, so what is to be gained here, apart from tokenism, duplication and cost to the taxpayer?"

Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae said that while "fertiliser, feedstuff and diesel costs have gone though the roof, we will not see prices in factories matching that".

"The factories are blackguarding the beef producers and finishers," the deputy said.

"The factories have no divine right or authority from anybody to do this. I ask the government to remove those two rules. Farmers have gone through too much."

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae added that the regulatory system in place "is not working".

"Farmers, especially beef farmers, are being let down. Farmers work hard to make sure cows are in calf and the calves are safely delivered, and enough things can go wrong when a cow is calving," the Kerry TD said.

"Nothing tends to go wrong in normal hours. It is always in the middle of the night when help is scarce that something goes wrong, like a calf being born backwards.

"All farmers want is to cover their costs and make a modest profit. That is all any farmer wants but beef farmers are not being allowed to do that.

"If we consider the cost of maintaining and keeping a cow alive for 12 months, the price a farmer will get for a calf and every other entitlement that applies to that cow, it will not make money for the farmer.

"Everybody knows that and it is wrong. All anyone selling a pint of Guinness or a pound of ham or doing a day's work wants is a fair price for what he or she is selling or a fair day's pay. Farmers are not getting that."

Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy said that "there is money to be made in beef" - but "the problem is that the money is not going to the people who are doing all the work".

"Most Irish farmers today are producing more food to higher standards than their parents but with less income to show for it, while at the other end we see that produce being used as a loss leader for large retailers who alongside the processors are making ever-increasing profits," the Cavan-Monaghan TD said.

Meanwhile, deputy Rose Conway-Walsh described the supply chain as being "broken, fragmented and disconnected, and it suffers a serious lack of trust between many of the stakeholders".

"Beef farming is in a constant battle for survival," the Sinn Féin TD for Mayo said.

"The farmers are playing their part in addressing climate change and they are willing to play their part in the future. All they need is fair play."