Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue is being called on to ensure that the Beef Market Taskforce “does not degenerate into a talking shop or a form of political cover for the meat factories”.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of the taskforce underway this morning (Tuesday, March 9), independent TD Carol Nolan argued that meat factories “cannot get away with using the beef taskforce as an alibi for inaction”.
The taskforce is having its first meeting of the year today, after several weeks of heightened debate around cattle prices.
“There is a real sense now among many farmers that the beef taskforce is in real danger of becoming little more than political tokenism; an attempt to persuade them that meaningful action is being taken while in reality very little is being done,” Nolan warned.
“Minister McConalogue says that he is committed to transparency in the sector, especially with respect to how prices are determined and the visibility of the supply chain.
“But the fact remains that the reports [commissioned by the taskforce] on this matter have all been subject to serious criticism from a number of farmer bodies,” the Laois-Offaly TD argued.
However, some farm organisations have criticised these reports for their findings.
Nolan went on: “I would also say that given the historic levels of power imbalance between the ordinary farmer and the monopoly of the factories, we have to ensure that the beef taskforce does not become a convenient vehicle, or an alibi for justifying industrial inaction.
“Farmers need to see real changes, positive outcomes and a determination to create a fairer playing field where the price received reflects the work that has been put in,” she added.
Deputy Nolan concluded: “That is a simple basic requirement that should not be controversial or open to any kind of ‘negotiation’ or power moves by the factories.”