Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is evident that there is going to be a surge in the dairy sector. Within the farming community, the returns in dairy have been far more beneficial than in any other sector. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, mentioned that dairy in New Zealand has quadrupled, and that is true, but so has the number of farmers there whose property is practically owned by the banks. My fear is that the same thing can happen here. People may go into huge investment. The small farmer might not be able to invest in developing his farm to reach the potential that is necessary, because he will not be able to get the money. There is a certain group within the dairy sector that will benefit considerably in this regard. There will also be people switching into dairy from other sectors. Anybody who is coming from potatoes, corn, vegetables or beef and switching over to the dairy sector will have to make a huge outlay to get into that sector. I would love to see it working as the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has put it, but I do have worries. I come from that background myself, so I have seen it all on a different scale going way back to when I was involved in farming and when I was a child. People were switching from one sector to another, following the market. It was easy enough at that time because they did not have to make huge investments in milking parlours, or robot parlours as they seem to be now, for want of a better word.