Taoiseach agrees to one day debate on Russian beef ban

THE Dail is to hold a one day debate next week on the Russian decision to ban beef from counties Cork, Tipperary and Monaghan.

The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, agreed to the debate following, a request from the Fianna Fail leader Mr Ahern on the Order of Business in the Dail yesterday.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail TDs and senators from Cork, Tipperary and Monaghan expressed strong feelings about the effects of the Russian ban on their constituencies at their parliamentary party meeting yesterday.

Their spokesman for Agriculture, Mr Cowen, together with the chairman of the parliamentary party, Dr O'Hanlon, and a party delegation met the leadership of the IFA afterwards.

Mr Cowen said it was imperative for the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste to start punching their weight for the beef industry.

Clearly it was beyond the capacity of the Minister, Mr Yates, to safeguard the interests of the industry.

The mood was very angry, he continued. Farmers felt they had been sold out. It was inexplicable that the Minister had been so naive as to hand such a propaganda weapon to our competitors.

The Progressive Democrats spokesman, Senator Dardis, said that if Irish beef was not good enough for the Russians, how did we persuade the British, the French, the Italians and the Germans that it was good enough for them.

We sold 100,000 tonnes of beef to Russia every year, he added, and any threat to that, market would have catastrophic consequences for the Irish beef industry.

The vice president of the Workers' Party, Councillor Homan, said the consumers in Cork, Tipperary and Monaghan would be concerned at this latest development. It was not good enough to regard this as a matter of concern to farmers only.