Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The contribution by Mr. Paddy Maguinness was fascinating. My party is a junior partner in Government so he will appreciate that hair stands on the back of our necks when we talk about oil and gas companies and multinationals. I know nothing about Tullow Oil. I do not know whether its involvement is part of the modern approach being taken by serious companies in the form of corporate social responsibility. Is that the relationship Tullow Oil has with Traidlinks? I do not want to be cynical. I live in hope that it is following in the footprints of the nice Irish Protestant and Catholic missionaries who travelled to Uganda before them. The educational and health services have been praised by Africans. Perhaps Tullow Oil is a new pioneer on the African continent.

The interesting contrast between Mr. Maguinness's talk and the previous one was due to the fact that we in Ireland, as he will know, are experts in food production and provide high-quality foods. What is the problem with the two companies involved? He mentioned the food produced by Out of Africa, although it has hit the wall or whatever. He mentioned a similar named company, Heart of Africa, but neither seems to have done well, which is sad. Where have we fallen down? Are we targeting the wrong produce? Some of us know that dried mango and pineapple is tasty.