Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a supplementary question related to Deputy Deering's comments. I hope Deputy Penrose is wrong about industrial farms, as that is an unpleasant thought. As the chief executive of Bord Bia has often pointed out, if a person Googles the word "Ireland", it will show an image of a green island. We are a green nation, so for any of us who have read about industrial milk farms in the US and those starting in the UK, it is a terrible thought.

Deputy Deering asked about the 1 litre in every 4 litres that is produced outside the State, coming down to the South and into retailers. I would like the witnesses to bear this in mind in answering Deputy Deering. Sterling is now at a level at which it is 20% more expensive for those producers outside the State to sell to us. It is very good for us to export to the UK and be paid in sterling, but it is very expensive to buy milk in sterling. How on earth can the milk farmers in the North be competitive? Yet we still have the extraordinary figure of 25% of milk being imported to this country.