Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Ornua came before the committee in March, and I must salute its representatives because in fairness they were accurate. Anybody who had listened to them would not have been surprised by what has emerged and I compliment them on this. They stated that for the three years prior to 2014 things were going great and the average was going from 20 cent to 40 cent, with an average of 37 cent or 38 cent in 2014. The Food Harvest 2020 projection was an increase of 50%, and this coincided with this market volatility, which is a function of supply and demand. We cannot reinvent this wheel nor can we stop the juggernaut. We must have a bit a sense here. Anyone who did basic economics for the junior certificate knows the problem. The question is how to deal with the problem. We heard about New Zealand and everything else.

All the signs were that this was going to happen. I remember speaking here and making an old-fashioned call for farmers to hasten slowly. One of the banks whose representatives are seated behind us made a good point, to get more out of what we had before we went fishing for new stuff. It was a simple but well-made point. For once, I might praise the banks for being observant, although they need not expect too much praise because they have done a bad job for the most part.