Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I apologise for interrupting the Chairman. I have a brief question that has possibly already been dealt with. I could not be here for the presentations earlier. I thank the witnesses for being here. It is very important and sends a very strong message of support to the agri-food sector for which the witnesses are to be complimented. As Deputy Barry said, the banks do not always come in for praise so looking at the presentations, particularly that of AIB, I can see that they have taken a very professional view. There is a great deal of uncertainty as to what is going to happen once the milk quotas come up. An issue that arose during a recent meeting with our colleagues from the agriculture committee in Northern Ireland was the fact that there was a lot of investment in the dairy sector which went somewhat awry. It did not always work out.

I know the term "better rather than bigger" was used earlier. While I appreciate that the market has changed considerably and banking procedures and lending practices have changed, all for the better, are the witnesses concerned that because it is such a volatile sector - the witnesses drew parallels with the pig industry which went through a period of volatility - some farmers might be biting off more than they can chew? Have the banks put in place proper procedures in case investment proposals which may look good on paper and where all the research has been done do not work out? I am sure the banks do not just give money away willy-nilly but a concern was raised in Northern Ireland that some farmers found themselves at the wrong end of a financial investment because of this volatility. It seems that in agriculture generally, there are certain flavours of the month. For a while, it was sheep. Everybody was into sheep because of the premiums coming from Europe and then that fell through. After that, it was pigs which also did not happen. Given the banks' vast expertise and the structures they put in place with its agriculture graduates around the country, are they satisfied they can handle the demand that will inevitably come once the quotas are lifted and in a manner that will ensure we will not see farmers who have over-extended themselves and are in very serious financial difficulties in another two or three years time?