How best to regulate the beef sector caused one of the most heated exchanges between all three parties at the Irish Farmers Journal farming debate.

Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue challenged Minster for Agriculture Michael Creed as to why, after nine years, Fine Gael was only now looking at bringing in a beef regulator.

Minister Creed said the accusation was a “bit rich coming from the party that did away with the below-cost selling in the groceries order”. He said Fianna Fáil were late converts to the idea.

Ombudsman

McConalogue’s party has proposed introducing a national food ombudsman to protect primary producers.

The minister said as the vast majority of Irish agri-food products were exported, a legislative solution was required at a European, rather than domestic, level.

Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy weighed in, asking the minister if he now supported a ban on below-cost selling as “it was his colleagues and his Commissioner who fought tooth and nail against my efforts to reintroduce, at a European level, a ban on below-cost selling”.

McConalogue pointed out that Carthy had voted against the unfair trading practices legislation. Carthy said this was because there was no provision included to tackle below-cost selling.

Sinn Féin’s commitment to give more funding to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) was also subject to criticism.

McConalogue said: “They’re not going to set up a regulator, they’re not going to set up a national food ombudsman. They’re actually going to give additional funding to the body that has failed to carry out that job to any extent. You’re giving more money to a body that has failed to do its job.”

Carthy shot back, saying Sinn Féin would give the CCPC more teeth to tackle the issue.

Read more

IFJ debate: what do parties plan for agri-environmental schemes?

Watch back: Irish Farmers Journal farming election debate