Mr. Brian Rushe:

The point I always make about encouraging and enticing people, be they young or old, into an industry is that you should make the industry an attractive place to be. The number one thing that will attract people to an industry is that it will be economically sustainable and they will get a return on their investment and have a good quality of life. As has been detailed by our speakers, we cannot say this about the horticultural sector at present given the pressure, increasing input costs and price compression at retail level. We have seen massive consolidation at farm level, which leaves growers more vulnerable. If there are only one or two growers of certain products the squeeze is easier to put on them. Documents such as the horticultural strategy are positive and it is a comprehensive document. As Ms Brennan said, if everything in it were put in place it would be very positive for the sector. The problem is that it is a fairy tale if we cannot address and arrest the decline that is occurring.

I view the horticulture sector as the canary in the coal mine. We can apply what is happening in the horticultural sector to other sectors. We are starting to see it in liquid milk. This is a fact. If we allow the competitiveness of a sector to be eroded and the farmers' margins to be hammered, no one will get into it. We have identified simple actions that would instil confidence in the sector. This would be the first step to encourage people into the sector.