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

I thank all the organisations for their very comprehensive submissions and presentations today. Before I go to members, there is no doubt that this is an important issue at present. Should we all have been looking in our crystal ball a couple of years ago when the milk quota rules were abolished? Was it obvious that there would be a significant increase in production numbers and cattle numbers as a result of that? Should we have seen this coming? There is a beef challenge, a Brexit challenge, a CAP challenge and a climate action challenge coming quickly down the line. Is it now more important than ever that all farming organisations work collectively to achieve a common goal?