Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a few brief points. To return to the competition legislation which was briefly mentioned earlier, as was pointed out we did a good deal of work on producing that report which made a number of recommendations. However, the legislation does not go far enough. We should go down the road taken by the English but it must tie into the overall European context.

The vast majority of our multiples are European based. Would the volume of milk in supermarkets make a difference in this context? If one were to buy a litre of milk today, one would pay the same price as one would have paid for it this time last year. The volume of milk in supermarkets is quite small in the overall context of what farmers produce. The vast majority of our milk products, be it milk power or other products, are exported.

Have our guests any comment to make on the suggestion that the price of milk has bottomed out? We all like to think it has and that there will be a gradual increase in the milk prices in the next period, although nobody can know or guarantee this. What is our guests' opinion on the perception that the price of milk has bottomed out?