Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am also concerned about food availability, food shortages and interjections in the food markets by various ways and means. There is going to be downward pressure in this country in respect of emissions, and I accept we must deal with that. Some of it can be dealt with indirectly and some of it can be dealt with directly by taking steps. However, we also have to be careful we do not end up with a food shortage. A food shortage can develop very quickly. It can come upon us in a very short space of time. For example, there was a serious food shortage in Syria some years ago, in many ways because of the war. Are we capable of withstanding all the pressures that are likely to be in our face, as it were, and come through that from the point of view of the food supply chain?