Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the organisations represented for their contributions. As Deputy Willie Penrose said, nearly everything we have talked about has been in the context of Brexit, as it was in the case of Mr. Jim Power's presentation earlier. I have a couple of points which flow from what he said in response to my question on the drive towards cheaper food imports and how it would impact on all aspects of the industries. When the chairman of Bord Iascaigh Mhara was before the joint committee a couple of weeks ago, we spoke about this issue - the need to increase the value of food exports from Ireland. We should look at their value rather than their volume. That is the direction in which Ireland needs to move. There has been too much emphasis on increasing their volume and not enough on increasing their value. I wonder if the delegates agree with me? It is strange.

I had friends home from America recently and they spoke about the image of the small family farm in Ireland. People around the world talk about it and how it is so quaint. That may not always be the case, but certainly there is that image of the small family farm in Ireland. Ireland does have small producers, grass fed animals and food traceability. These are aspects about which people may not know, but they are aware of the image of the small family farm. The image in people's minds of Ireland being a green clean environment is crucial and I firmly believe we do not use this image to its full potential when marketing our goods. It is one of the aspects that we really need to change. In the marketing of food from Ireland we need to move in a different direction to increase the value of our exports. That is the real challenge. It is said trouble is an opportunity in work clothes. Brexit may offer an opportunity in that regard. It may be the event that will smarten Ireland up to realise that if we continue to compete with Argentina, Brazil and other cheap producers of food, we will not make it. We need to look in a different direction. While we export a lot of what we produce, this is still a small island which, in a global context, produces a very small amount. Because of its image Ireland should be looking to be at the very top end with its produce. I implore the representatives to look at this aspect as a way forward in getting out of this mess.

Reference was made to trade deals. It strikes me that they are always good for the corporations and not so good for everybody else. That applies on both sides of the table, from the point of view of the Canadians or the Irish people. It is always about the corporation and the sectors involved. Usually, agriculture forms part of a trade-off. The Europeans may be trying to sell insurance services or cars to some other part of the world and will use agriculture as part of a trade-off because it is seen as a sector that can be dealt with in that way. That is why we find ourselves in this position time and again and there is a serious danger of it happening in the case of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, CETA. With the change in administration in the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement may be slightly off the agenda, but we do not know for sure. I suggest, however, that the farming organisations who represent primary producers take a look at these trade negotiations to see where they are taking Ireland. They need to look at the deals, not individually but as a whole, and the direction in which they are pulling the agriculture sector. It needs to be acknowledged that they are very negative.

My final point is about Brexit. We have spoken about it so many times that we have flogged it to death. We all know that it is going to be negative and everybody is trying to measure just how negative it will be. It is very hard to see where we can turn it around to find the positives. It was mentioned that we could replace some imports, but I do not know if that will be possible. It is very unlikely. I have thought of one example. On the main street of Ballinamore there is a small confectionery wholesaler. He has told me that every bar of chocolate and every item in his wholesale business comes through Britain.

I was just telling Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn that I remember visiting Letterkenny many years ago and there being a smell of sweets all over the town. Oatfield was the company that used to manufacture sweets in Letterkenny, but it no longer operates. Many similar companies have also closed. We need to examine whether some of these industries can be restarted to replace some imports. In many cases, that will not be possible because we cannot compete with goods produced much more cheaply elsewhere. However, we should seek to secure the highest prices in the world for our primary food produce such as dairy products, beef and lamb. That is the direction we must take if we are to overcome the problems arising from Brexit and the general direction of world trade, especially in agricultural produce prices.