Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I am making the comparison honestly because very little of what is happening will penetrate these walls. It is unfortunate. We are currently off-track in meeting our targets and a figure of €900 million has been quoted from the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association with regard to the fodder crisis. I may hear five or ten minutes of the media every day but I have never heard that figure before, despite having my ear tuned for that kind of issue. The figure has not got into the wider world, although it may have appeared in the Farmers' Journal or somewhere like it. It is staggering to think nearly €1 billion is the cost of the fodder crisis. We are trying to mainstream this debate, which is one of the bigger issues, along with the economic crisis. Sustainable development and the economy are linked so I wonder how we can present this to a wider audience.

If we are to communicate this to the public, we must somehow or other get across the type of economy, society or community we will be in 20, 30 or 40 years. Do the witnesses from Trócaire agree we must now start painting this picture? They have correctly highlighted what is happening in developing countries, although I have not seen that at first hand. The media reports nevertheless indicate that serious things are happening. What are the main shortcomings of the Bill?