2 September 2019
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South West Margaret Murphy O’Mahony says the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should come before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee to discuss the current beef crisis.
Margaret Murphy O’Mahony TD
She says it would be beneficial for the public to hear from the CCPC as the current crisis over beef crisis escalates.
Deputy Murphy O’Mahony said, “Despite earlier talks between farming organisations and processors, the crisis over beef prices has escalated over recent weeks, with pickets back outside factories and increasing anger on the ground.
“Minister Creed has taken a hands-off approach and farmers are under unsustainable pressure and are struggling to survive.
“The Minister has been invited to appear before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee this week, but I believe it would also be good to hear from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, particularly in relation to pricing.
“Farmers have seen the price of beef plummet in recent months. They need help. My party has been calling on Minister Creed to make an immediate application to the European Commission for CAP market disturbance funding, to alleviate the severe drop in prices.
“The government needs to take swift action to safeguard the beef sector given the threats posed to it, not only from the current price instability, but also the ever-increasing possibility of a no-deal Brexit”.
