Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. This is an important topic to discuss, and not just for grain growers. It has such a significant impact for the farming sector right across the country. In my own constituency of Mayo, for example, there is very little tillage, but I know how reliant they are in terms of foodstuff and bedding. It is an issue that is fundamentally important for the entire agri sector in the country.

A significant point was made on the differences in the unfair trading practices in homegrown, indigenous grain versus what we are importing. We spoke about the Mercosur deal last week. It appears there is a significant drive within the European Union and the Commission to import inferior foodstuff, such as grain, beef and so on, and have our own farmers compete against that. I refer, for example, to the level of environmental protection our farmers are under and the buffer zone for the tillage sector in respect of taxation through the CBAM tax and so on. The message needs to go out very clearly that we cannot have such an unequal playing field for our farmers. I have a sports background. It would be like asking Manchester United to go out and play with five players against Arsenal with 11. That is what farmers have been asked to engage in here.

In relation to imports, I am interested in the genetically modified. Obviously, GM food is much easier and cheaper to produce. It grows more quickly and has fewer inputs, etc. What percentage of our imported foods are genetically modified?