Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Carter for his presentation. The grain industry is at a serious crossroads. Coming up to Dublin this morning I saw combines working very hard and it is the second year in a row that we have had bad weather for the spring harvest. The price grain has been getting in the past couple of years makes the economics of grain production in this country very questionable.

Mr. Carter posed as many questions as he gave us facts, and that is not a criticism because he is entitled to represent his sector. He spoke of promoting a non-GM status for the country. Can that work in practice? We have an expanding dairy herd and our beef will always have a demand for grain but, at the current grain price, farmers are going to look at a value ration. How practical is it to give ourselves GM-free status and put a wall around our country? Flahavans pay a premium for oats for their porridge but it is a very limited market. Will Irish whiskey be another niche market? What tonnage potential does it have? If we get niche markets such as these going, it takes away from the argument that we can supply the dairy and beef industry. Can the sector carry through on this? Can we be GM-free and, at the same time, keep our other industries cost-effective?

The future for the grain sector is in energy crops and anaerobic digesters. Deputy McConalogue and I met an individual last week who has plans as to how this could be advanced. The tillage sector has a huge role to play in the production of gas and in meeting our emission targets but it is something on which we have not focused at all. If this sector is to survive, this is the way it will do so, with the by-products able to be used in the production of food.

I accept that GM-free status sounds lovely and it sounds like it would be attractive to the consumer, but both dairy and beef farmers have to be able to produce their products at cost. If we go down that road, is it achievable? I would seriously question whether it is achievable. To me, the future is in diversity and doing something we have never done before with our crops. We have lost our sugar beet industry. I see us going the way of New Zealand very quickly so that all we will have are Friesian cows and that will be the only industry we have. We see our suckler herd under huge pressure. Mr. Carter gave us the figures relating to cereals and the way they could drop. I am from Tipperary. The conacre sector is definitely losing land to grass on a rapid basis and most of it is going into dairy. If that slide is not stopped fairly quickly, it will be a retrograde step if we focus all of this country on one industry. Putting all our eggs in one basket is never a good thing. We must look outside. What worked for us ten or 15 years' ago will not work going forward. The price the world market is returning for grain is at such a level that we must be more imaginative about how we can help this sector to survive.