Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news over recent days regarding a huge increase in investment in farm buildings. It has increased by 50% to a total of €450 million in 2013. This reflects the confidence in the industry and in the dairy industry in particular, ahead of quotas being abolished in 2015. Agriculture has continued to grow right through the recession but it is of vital importance to continue to support and encourage farmers, particularly given the difficulties being encountered by farmers in the beef sector. Members must do everything possible, prior to the autumn sales of weanlings, to make sure the beef sector equally can move ahead and find the finances necessary to grow its business from 2015 onwards.