Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

On behalf of my mother, I must plead guilty to having four unregistered hens. Senator Ó Murchú mentioned this as stemming from the excessive bureaucracy of Brussels but perhaps we should look closer to home. Much of what we deem to be Brussels bureaucracy stems from Government Departments interpreting EU directives. That is where the debate should start. The European Affairs committee is very proactive in this area but the EU regulations must be more widely debated in the Oireachtas, particularly here in the Seanad, which is the ideal vehicle for examining them.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was in the House some weeks ago for a general debate on agriculture, it would be opportune that in the immediate future the Minister would attend for a debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. Matters are now progressing swiftly in Brussels and in the next few months there will be a degree of finality on the future funding of European agriculture and the impact that will have on Ireland. That will deeply affect every rural family and the Irish economy for better or for worse. There is a question of securing the maximum degree of funding and how that money should be spent. Again the Seanad should play a lead role and not just have the Minister attend for a broad presentation on agricultural policy. He must specifically discuss current thinking on the future of the CAP. I am sure Members, particularly those from rural areas, would be interested in contributing to that debate.