Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is the reason we are having a discussion here about the future of the tillage sector. We have had different representatives before us showing the lack of profitability in the tillage sector and the problem is acreage is dropping year by year. That is the reason that we are analysing the sector and analysing where it is going. In fairness, the witnesses have answered the question about the price they are paying for malting barley. They are being supplied and there are plenty of contracts so they have answered the question from their viewpoint. It is up to us to put our report together about where we see the future of the sector going. We heard this side of the story from the malting sector today.

I thank the witnesses for their presentation and answering the questions. As they can see from the questions asked, the committee is worried about where our industry is going. We lost our sugar beet industry and we are seriously worried about the acreage of our cereal sector. I thank the witnesses very much for their presentations.