Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to financial support for the agriculture sector, which is one of our most important sectors - people will understand why I raise this issue - in 2011 approximately €6 million was provided for the dairy investment fund, while €8 million or €9 million was provided in the previous year. This was to help concentration of the industry. Enterprise Ireland invested €7 million in the beef and sheep meat investment fund in 2011 and more than €10 million the previous year. Are we over-concentrating key sectors in the hands of a small number of people in the private sector? There was a time when we had many disparate co-operatives in the dairy sector. Major rationalisation has taken place but now funding has been provided for further rationalisation. Having a few super-companies in the dairy sector helps in the international field.

However, on the beef side, there might be an over-concentration of production resources in the hands of a few people. Given the incident in recent weeks, we must ensure a variety of production facilities to take up the slack if something happens to a particular producer or company group. Is Mr. Ryan concerned that the scheme is contributing to over-concentration? Farmers are trying to sell their products to a cartel of two or three bodies that control the overall price. It is bad enough that two or three supermarket buyers, the Tescos and Dunnes Stores of this world, can dictate prices to their suppliers. If there are only two or three major dairy groups and beef processors in the country, there is little competition between the bodies to which producers sell their products. Is there a fear of over-concentration?