The decision by fast food outlet McDonald's to close all its Irish restaurants will have a massive impact on an already struggling beef sector.
McDonald's is the biggest buyer of Irish beef, it spends more than €160m on Irish beef for consumption here and at restaurants all over Europe.
Two in ten burgers sold in its outlets in Europe are made from Irish beef. Its scale as a buyer of Irish beef is huge, purchasing around 40,000 tonnes of beef every year.
Fast food outlets are big buyers of beef, Supermacs spends an estimated €40m every year on Irish food produced, €9m of that on chicken alone.