Mr. Willie Masterson:

I am a tillage farmer from near Bunclody, County Wexford. I have been farming for 25 years and the farm has been in the hands of my family since 1919. It was a mixed farm, cattle, tillage and sheep, until 20 years ago. Then we concentrated on sugar beet and malting barley and as the committee knows, the sugar beet disappeared nine years ago. We then changed over to farming 90% malting barley and 10% hay. If the drinks companies did not demand the malting barley we would have been in a very tricky spot. Our farm also borders the River Slaney and the Slaney valley has been recognised across Europe as a quality area for growing malting barley. For as long as I can remember barley has been a vital crop on our farm, primarily because we can always rely on demand from big drinks companies such as Guinness and Irish Distillers.

I was delighted to hear of the huge surge in global demand for Irish whiskey. I have always thought it strange that Scotland – a country not much bigger than our own – should have such a reputation for a product that we produce here with the best possible ingredients. The Irish Whiskey Association has said it wants to double the amount of Irish whiskey exports by 2020, and double those exports again by 2030. I commend Ms Byrne and the others like her around the country who are taking a risk and setting up businesses which will be able to export quality Irish whiskey around the world.

This increase in the global demand for Irish whiskey will mean a fourfold increase in demand for the ingredients that go into producing that whiskey, like the malting barley that comes from our farm. At a time when the prices for many farm products is falling, for example, the price of beef, this would provide much needed security for farms like ours. Leaving a steady demand for malting barley gives farmers a bit of certainty when they are planning for the future. Big capital investments such as those in St James’ Gate and Middleton give us a bit of confidence that the drinks producers will be buying malting barley in Ireland for years to come. Having that certainty is a big boost for people like us who were badly affected when the sugar beet factory closed up.

Over 35,000 tonnes of malting barley were sold to the drinks industry by farmers in County Wexford last year, and 500 tonnes of that came from our farm. I look forward to working with the likes of Mr. O'Brien and Ms Byrne to make sure that through growing the global demand for Irish whiskey we can make that number even more impressive next year, and every year after that.

Before I hand back to Mr. O'Brien I will make a couple of points about the drinks industry here. The drinks industry is employing people in every parish in this country. I know that there is a lot of talk of economic recovery at the moment but in County Wexford there are still a lot of people out of work and those who have jobs need to keep them. There are nearly 3,000 jobs in Wexford dependent on the drinks industry and they need to be supported by Government. I and my fellow malt and barley growers are very proud to be a part of the drinks industry, which is an Irish industry that has a rich heritage in our county and country.

The drinks industry has produced iconic brands and its products are enjoyed by people from all over the world. It also focuses on purchasing its materials domestically from farmers like us. Heineken and Guinness can boast that 100% of the barley used in their beer production in Ireland is grown in Ireland.