Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One could say that about GAA clubs and counties as well. There is a lot behind that. On the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill, which I hasten to add we asked the IFA in to discuss, we were staunchly in favour of legislation underpinning the Ombudsman. We have been told the regulations are ready to be published and the implementation of what is there should be a good step. We will see if it is enough but if it is not, I think it will have to be led by Europe. A previous Commissioner, Mr. Ciolo, put, for the first time, a reference to the producer organisations into the CAP to give power to the producers to negotiate without having to fear the Competition Authority, as it was in the past, and which the witnesses are aware of. From that point of view, there is work to be done.

We should not forget the liquid milk producers. Ironically, it is the one the consumer in Ireland is most familiar with but almost takes for granted because the milk is on the shelves, yet it is probably the most vulnerable at the moment. It certainly needs to be watched. Sometimes it is the fear of loss that spurts some kind of initiative, which seemingly happened in Britain. That is something that we should keep an eye on as well.

The State-aid rules have been referred to. It would be interesting to see how France got around that and whether there was a certain trigger point, when the price hits a certain level above that, from which a fund is extracted directly rather than from the farm profits from the price of the milk, and put into a holding fund that triggers back in as a support when it gets below a certain point. Maybe that is because such a process does not constitute State rules and is actually farmer funded directly. There might be a way around that. The other issues were the contracts, in particular, for liquid milk and a recognised percentage margin which should be backed up by the legislation and regulations from the Government.

We will bring in the banks and if we have time, depending on what happens, we will bring in Ornua and Bord Bia as well. They are important players from the point of view of a long-term industry. This industry will be the main driver of the Irish agri-food sector from the point of view of output and production, along with beef. Certainly dairying is the one in which there is big room for expansion.