Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor McQuinn for his presentation. I will start where he left off with Deputy Ryan. If a comparison was done between Covid-19 over the past two years and what is now happening in Ukraine, which is the bigger worry for us? Looking at agriculture and food security, Professor McQuinn said we do not trade much with Russia. However, Russia produces much of the world's fertiliser which is important for us. Ukraine produces much of the grain we need for feed as well as seeds to sow our own grain. We have a perfect storm there. Now we are talking about adapting our farming and our agricultural practices to do more tillage to produce more of the basic ingredients we need in order that we have the foodstuffs for ourselves and for the animals in winter so that we can continue to produce beef and dairy produce. If Professor McQuinn was the Minister for Finance, what would he think about this? Is there an issue around climate and farming that has to be revisited or recalibrated in light of what we are facing now?