Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before coming back to the Minister, I wish to make some brief points. In the discussions so far today we have heard a lot about the future. We have all seen, particularly in my part of the country, many young, enthusiastic, energetic and skilled people enter into the industry, particularly the dairy industry, in recent years since the abolition of milk quotas. I fear that those young individuals, whom we need in the industry for the future, will get badly burned this year because of what has happened and the extra costs that will be incurred. We need to ensure they are in a sustainable position for the future. If we do not have them in the future, we will be in serious trouble.

As we discuss CAP in coming months, is it now time to consider an insurance-type scheme in the longer term to deal with these types of issues? We have these discussions on a six-monthly basis. Unfortunately there is volatility if there is too much rain, if there is no rain, if it snows, etc. We need a discussion on an insurance-type scheme to deal with these matters once and for all. We should have a pot of money that in the event of a fodder crisis or other crisis can be accessed to deal with these matters.

We have had much discussion about the farmers with greatest need for whatever scheme may come down the line. I would argue that those who need it most are the most productive farmers because of difficulty in the productive area. Will they be in difficulty because of the state aid rules? They may have acquired the low-cost loans last year. Will they have reached their limit because of those state aid rules?

We have many targets in respect of Food Wise 2025. As the Minister mentioned, there has been increased production with dairy yields up again. Should we now have a detailed review of those targets? In a previous meeting the Minister spoke about the industry's targets. Is it now time to look at this from the ground up? The industry seems to have led and been driving these targets up to now. Do we need to look at where we are going in the future the other way round - from the ground up?