Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join other Senators in looking forward to the summer break and thank everybody who has been involved in the past term.

The debate yesterday on blindness was a reminder to all of us with good health of the benefits of that good health. The presence today of visitors who are suffering from deafness is a second occasion to remind us of the responsibilities we have in the House. I thank Senator Conway and Senator Daly for reminding us yesterday and today, respectively, of those.

There is good news about the economy in the newspapers today. We have an increasing capacity to spend, but we must be very careful because there is other news that indicates that competitiveness is being damaged. There are things we can do about that and we must ensure we do them during the recess period.

There is one other piece of news. I had not realised that 2014 is the European year against food waste. This is a topic I have discussed many times previously but it is interesting to see how some other countries have responded to food waste. Approximately 300 million tonnes of food waste is thrown out in Europe because people simply are not careful when purchasing their food. One of the developments in France relates to what is called "inglorious" food. It is a very interesting development. A huge amount of food never reaches the grocery shops because it is misshapen - it could be misshapen carrots, onions, potatoes - and the shops do not wish to sell it. I can understand that. The movement reduces prices by 30% and people are buying and eating the food. It is just as good, but simply misshapen. It is something we should consider in this country. If we are throwing out food at a time when people are going hungry, we can do something about it. I call on the grocery trade in particular, but also the suppliers and the farmers, to get together and help to feed people with food that would otherwise be thrown out.

I congratulate you, a Chathaoirligh, and your team for your work in the past year. I hope we return invigorated at the end of the summer.