§ Rev. Ian PaisleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received from the Ulster Farmers Union concerning the financial implications for producers of finishing beef cattle over the recent winter; and how he intends to respond to the Ulster Farmers Union request for special measures to help keep these producers in business.
§ Mr. Peter Bottomley[holding answer 14 March 1990]: I met the Ulster Farmers Union on 17 January 1990 about the difficulties affecting beef producers in Northern Ireland. Subsequently I put the issues involved to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who has given the union an assurance that he will be seeking a substantial devaluation of the United Kingdom green pound in this year's price-fixing round. The Government have also sought to optimise beef intervention in Northern Ireland in recent months and substantial tonnages of beef have been taken off the market recently.
The special measure which the union has sought is a slaughter premium on finished cattle marketed since 1 439W December 1989. The Government have made it clear that such a measure would be difficult to justify let alone to negotiate in Brussels. The EC Commission and most member states disliked the United Kingdom's beef variable premium scheme and would be certain to oppose any suggestion to reintroduce that kind of end price support. Unilateral action by the United Kingdom would be illegal.