A TD is seeking urgent clarity from the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Bord Bia to establish why beef imports into Ireland have hit almost 70,000t since the start of 2022.
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan was speaking after Minister McConalogue recently confirmed trade data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The figures outlined that over 14,000t of beef was imported into the country between January and March of this year.
This comes on the back of 54,000t of beef imports in 2022, according to data previously reported by Agriland.
In response to a recent parliamentary question from Fine Gael Mayo TD Alan Dillon, Minister McConalogue said that the Irish beef sector is highly export orientated.
“Its success is dependent on the maintenance of an open, rules-based multilateral trading system,” he said.
Beef imports
Deputy Carol Nolan said that the final report of the Beef Taskforce outlined a clear demand from stakeholders that the Irish government should seek to invoke the World Trade Organisation (WTO) safeguard clause to reduce the level of beef imports from third countries.
“That does not appear to have happened and I want to know what the reason for that is,” she said.
“In fact, the final progress report of the Beef Taskforce from July 2021 notes that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) was, at that point, continuing to lobby for continued support of these measures at EU level.
“I also want to know why that lobbing appears to have failed,” the TD added.
“It is quite clear to me, as it is to farming organisations such as the ICSA that serious questions need to be answered as to why tens of thousands of tonnes of beef are being imported annually into the state when our own beef farmers are routinely told by industry that demand is low or fluctuating.
“Something does not add up. Farmers will not be taken for fools and neither should the general public,” she said.
“Even the Beef Taskforce conclusions recognised the need to ensure that imports which do not meet the same stringent standards as EU producers are banned.
“We cannot have the world class reputation of Irish beef damaged by allowing the importation of sub-standard product that is then marketed as Irish produce both here and abroad,” Deputy Nolan concluded.