Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner to the committee. The Commissioner will be aware that 4,500 hectares of spring cereals have not been harvested due to poor weather. The Commissioner is aware of the crisis in the mushroom sector as well. Representatives of that sector were before the committee recently. They have been particularly impacted by the devaluation of sterling. There is another issue for dairy farmers in Ireland as well as farmers in other sectors. The common denominator is price. This has been going on for years. Primary producers in our country are not getting a fair price for their produce. Recently, when the farm organisation representatives were before the committee prior to the budget I asked for their views on how to address this. I assume that collectively all the members of this committee as well as farming organisations want to ensure a fair price for our primary producers.

They feel the solution rests with the Commission in terms of regulation and oversight of the industry and ensuring this matter is addressed. The Commissioner referred to this but I would like a robust assurance from him that he is determined to address the issue once and for all because that is at the heart of the crisis our farming communities face.