Mr. Phil Hogan:

I can answer that question immediately. There will be no return to quotas. The latest experience on the voluntary scheme, which was to manage supply, was very successful because it was led by farmers,. not co-operatives or member states. If it was left to co-operatives or member states, it might not be as successful because they want a cheaper product and cheaper raw materials. However, the price does not increase if there is not supply and demand in some form of equilibrium.

It is good to see Deputy Penrose again. The issues he raised about the food chain are very much on our radar.

When 20 member states are doing their own thing, he rightly points out that harmonisation of these rules is required or there will be distortions of competition, particularly in border areas. If somebody on each side of the border is doing something different, it will play hell.

There is a huge vacuum in Brexit negotiations. It is because the British Government has not decided what it wants. We will not know until next March when it triggers Article 50 so we are not in any position to know what to say or do until we hear what are the proposals from the other side. As I said earlier at another meeting, when the trigger mechanism from the British Government happens in March, the attention will turn to the 27 other member states and what they will do. They will be the ones that will decide the outcome. The Commission does not decide. It proposes and it is then up to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to reject, accept or modify and that is it. Sometimes, everyone thinks the Commission decides. It does not. It is the legislature which decides in the same way as it decides in these Houses. I agree that the uncertainty and instability this is causing is not helping Ireland, particularly in the agrifood sector where currency movements have been very unhelpful. I assure members that, since 23 June, I have been talking quite frequently to all Commissioners, including the president, and have met with Michel Barnier, the European Commission's negotiator on Brexit. They fully understand all the implications of any deal and the particular circumstances of the island of Ireland. It is important that they do understand and I am glad the Deputy asked that question. I am happy to say that they now understand it very much. At every diplomatic level, I assure the Deputy that the Irish diplomatic service is very much out there making sure every department in Brussels understands the implications of this.

In respect of the absence of additional funding mechanisms from member states, of course, there will be implications for all budgets. We will be expected to fight our corner in any multiannual financial framework negotiations in 2018 and 2019. As the largest part of the budget at 38%, agriculture comes into the firing line as it always does in respect of what are the other priorities. There are plenty of other priorities, sectors and policy issues that are looking for money. We will do our best but if you have €11 billion less in terms of the net contribution from the UK to the European budget, that is not a good starting place. If member states want to propose ways in which the European budget will be able to fill that €11 billion gap, that is open to discussion. At the end of the day, we must operate on the basis that we will have €11 billion less in the overall budget.

In response to Deputy Pringle, the EU imports more from Africa and developing countries than the US, Australia and Japan together. We have tariff-free access for many commodities from the African Continent in particular. The Deputy will see that in the Valletta summit last November, the role of agriculture was recognised for the first time as making an important contribution to dealing with the issue of irregular migration. Last December, I attended the World Trade Organization talks in Nairobi where we agreed that all export-distorting mechanisms for developing countries into the EU in terms of their products and the least developed countries are being eliminated. They started on 1 January for EU countries. Many positive things are happening that will help deal with the migration issue by helping farmers in Africa and elsewhere to be able to help themselves. Otherwise, as the Deputy rightly says, we will have a bigger migration issue in the future if we do not help farmers and trade with them in the preferential way we do now. They can impose tariffs on EU products going to Africa but we accept tariff-free imports and import large quantities of food tariff free from Africa. We have a good story to tell here. The recent agreement with six south African countries has certainly accentuated that. It was approved by the European Parliament three weeks ago. An increase of 335% in exports to those countries has been achieved in the past five years but there has been substantial trade in the other direction as well.

I realise that some in the non-governmental organisation, NGO, community get confused about these issues but the figures and agreements speak for themselves. They also do not wish to acknowledge that we have eliminated the trade distorting measures. I have regular conversations-----