Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Most of the points have been covered but I want to thank Mr. Collins for his presentation.

On a relevant point, Mr. Collins has shown in graphs the problems with the Russian and Chinese markets. How advanced are these nations in terms of increasing their own supply? If China started to get into milk production, especially into powder production, it would have a major effect on Ireland's sector and the European milk sector.

I note the fixed milk price scheme makes sense at present, especially when the price is depressed. At what price, if the markets recover, should farmers consider going into a fixed milk price scheme? On intervention, the IFA, the banks and others say that the cost of production is 26 cent or 27 cent. One must have something for the person who is producing it as well. When should farmers hedge their bets and go in and take the fixed milk price scheme if the markets recover?

I note Mr. Collins stated that the markets will not recover until H2 2016, which is a long time away. It will be interesting to hear the banks outline what measures can be taken to support the sector. We saw what happened in agriculture after we joined the EU when a lot of investment was made at high interest rates and, suddenly, there was a depression and a lot of farmers got into trouble. When, in Mr. Collins's view, will the markets recover enough that farmers can consider going into a fixed milk price scheme and to what extent will the emerging nations, such as Russia and China, try to increase their production to stop EU and New Zealand imports?