Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I met the milk producers last summer. We need to guarantee that there will be fresh milk on the shelves 365 days a year. I am convinced that unless farming is based on making a profit on everything produced, it is not sustainable for family farmers. I asked about the position in the North because it was said to me it was the lever being used by the retailers to put pressure on the processors who, in turn, would put pressure on the primary producers. I accept what the delegates are saying about what will happen 18 months ahead, but are they guaranteed they will have fresh milk three years ahead? The answer is "No". There are only 1,900 suppliers. If half of them were to pull out, that would be curtains in the supply of fresh milk, unless we could get it from the North or Britain. The remaining 1,000 farmers would not be able to scale upwards that fast. It might be thought that the suppliers are in a powerful position, but we know they are not because we know that what they are telling us is true. Where is the angle? What is the leverage being used to get us into the farcical position where farmers are losing money on every litre they produce, which is totally unsustainable into the future?