Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Norris's request that Pope Francis be invited to Ireland. He has been a positive influence on the Catholic Church since his election as Pope. He has been very reforming and it would be positive for us to have him come to the country.

I also support Senator MacSharry's reasonable request for a debate on the proposed introduction of free GP care for those aged under six, about which there are concerns. I would go a step further and suggest that we could have a public consultation in this House. Obviously we would not want to duplicate the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. However, I believe it would be useful. We have seen how this Chamber can be useful in public consultation. It may be an opportunity at this stage to air concerns that various interests have on the issue.

I wish to raise an agricultural issue that I would not normally raise, but it is one that has great potential for the economy overall.

During the week the Irish Dairy Board reported an 87% increase in pre-tax profits for last year, up €10.6 million to €22.8 million. The company's turnover was also up 5% in 2013, rising to €2.12 billion. This is just the beginning because when the milk quotas, which have been in place since 1984, end in April next year it is estimated that there will be a further increase in production of up to 50%. This will lead to the creation of a potential income of €800 million for daily farmers and a value of €1.3 billion for the agrifood sector. There is a major opportunity for us to open up previously untouched markets. Work is being done to increase the market in places such as the Middle East, Asia and west Africa. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, is a regular visitor to the House, and we could discuss and debate this positive story in the House in the near future.