Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I just wanted to clarify that. I would prioritise the suggestion that it is bad for farmers. My first concern is for farmers, my second concern is for security of supply, my next concern is for jobs and my last concern is for the multiples. The witnesses have spoken about getting this label. I do not think about quality when I see the label. I just assume the quality is there. There is no question mark with regard to quality. When I look at other types of milk, I do not know how much of it is sourced from third countries. I just prefer to buy Irish milk. When I cannot see a National Dairy Council label on a bottle of milk, I sometimes pick it up only to see a UK label on it. I do not see anybody complaining about the fact that it already has a UK label on it. This label indicates that the product was farmed in Ireland. There has to be an "IRL" label or some label pertaining to Ireland. It is just that this label is a little bigger. I wonder whether the problem with this label is that it is actually working. I have no problem buying things that are labelled with the red tractor.

I would like to pick up on a few other things that were mentioned by the witnesses. I might be jumping around a bit. Page 20 of their submission refers to parallel imports. I have engaged in parallel imports. They are not the be-all and end-all of everything. When parallel imports take place with other products, it is sometimes the case that the product is not exactly the same. There are abuses of the parallel imports system. I do not think it is a great argument to make.

Mr. Cunningham quotes a Mr. Ian Potter. His comments are not great. He is bringing up North-South issues which we should leave behind. On his website he states that he spends a good deal of time and effort on legislation and political matters relating to quota and entitlements within the United Kingdom and Europe. He refers to himself as a quota broker. Does that strike Mr. Cunningham as a biased opinion, as a person running a business? I believe it is an inappropriate argument to make.

Do the representatives of Strathroy Dairy believe they are in the middle of a milk war in Northern Ireland? Mr. Cunningham should correct me if I am wrong but from what I gather, Strathroy Dairy is advertising for milk from the South from producers in counties Meath and Louth and offering them 3 cent per litre extra to bring them up to the North.

I am unsure of the business model. I have been in business for many years and I understand one thing, that is, when a person aggressively looks for business this way, it can be a short-term or a long-term strategy. We all know what happened in the gas market some years ago. There was strong competition for gas customers through cheap prices. However, they have dissipated now and there is no longer cheap gas. I would be interested to hear the witnesses' comments on that.

I am still farming actively, thanks be to God, although not in milk. However, many milk farmers I know have put it to me that they do not mind paying the levy to the National Dairy Council. Clearly they see value in it. They are concerned about cheap milk coming into the South in large quantities because they are not making money at the moment. In fact, they are going out of business. It is not the fault of Strathroy Dairy, but they are going out of business and they are concerned about it. What advantage is it to us to increase their fear that they go out of business?

Let us consider it from a consumer point of view. When I pick up milk with an NDC label, it is more expensive than other milk. I am hoping that whoever produced it got a few cent more for the milk because they are not getting nearly enough, as Deputy Deering stated. I got out of milk in 1991. At that stage the price of milk was £1 per gallon which translates to approximately 26 cent per litre. If we consider the increases in today's world, that is appalling. It is hardly enough to allow these people to invest in their business and keep producing profitably, but that is what we must do.

I fear there is a milk war on at the moment. Is Strathroy Dairy having a battle within business that we should not be involved in? Sometimes business battles take place. Are we being drawn into this? I am a little uncomfortable that we might become drawn into something that we should not be involved in too much. I have gone through some issues and I am sorry if I was a little scattered, but the witnesses might try to get through the points as best they can.