The Irish Beef and Lamb Association (IBLA) has expressed its frustration at a virtual meeting that took place yesterday (Wednesday, July 15) between stakeholders on the Beef Market Taskforce and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

The IBLA - two of whose members, Dermot O'Brien and Enda Fingleton, sit on the taskforce - said that the meeting was disappointing, claiming it took place in a "controlled setting" due to the apparent lack of proper opportunity to pose questions to representatives of the commission watchdog.

The taskforce stakeholders took place in two meetings yesterday. The later one was with the CCPC, while the earlier meeting was with a senior representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture (DG Agri). Both meetings were allocated one hour.

"The meetings were conducted during two separate one-hour time-slots and members were not afforded the opportunity to directly question the commission or the CCPC during the brief questions and answers sessions that followed," an IBLA statement said.

"The overall lack of engagement during both short meetings was very evident and transparency for Irish farmers was well down the list of priorities. It was a disappointing and controlled setting," the association claimed.

It added: "IBLA put forward a number of important written questions on behalf of Irish farmers, to which no satisfactory answers were provided".

"All questions posed by the IBLA to the CCPC remained unanswered," the association asserted, adding that the CCPC's representative suggested that the price drop in February was down to Brexit.

The IBLA reiterated its view that an independent regulator, as opposed to a food ombudsman, was necessary for the sector.

"IBLA again calls on all farm representative bodies to come out and support IBLA in its request for the appointment of an ‘independent meat regulator’. [We] call on all public representatives to help farmers. Immediate action is required. Irish farmers need regulation of the meat industry," the association argued.

The statement concluded: "Transparency can only be achieved with regulation. A national food ombudsman is only akin to a bush in a gap."