Mr. Philip Carroll:

I have a general comment to make. I missed some of what Deputy Eamon Ryan had to say, but I got the flavour of it towards the end. Everything we have said is about progressing the climate change agenda in a proper way and operating on the basis of sustainability. It is a journey, not something that will happen overnight. The differences between us are not massive and, as has been said, in work together we will solve some of the problems. There is a role for the Government, the industry and farmers - everybody has a part to play.

I am puzzled by the Deputy in talking about premium markets being lost or missed. We are exporting to the best premium market which delivers the best returns, but we are also exporting to a market that has been substantially renationalised. In the case of France and Italy, the markets have a preference for their own products. The value from these markets is greater than that from an Irish product exported to these markets. Notwithstanding that, as Mr. Healy stated, in 2017 the average price paid was 107% of the European Union average. The only market that would have been ahead of us in that price grading over the course of the year was the United Kingdom which is paying a premium price to its own producers. I do not know which premium market the Deputy believes we should be in. This is an industry that exports to 50 markets and we continuously chase access to the premium markets. We are not always at liberty to trade with these countries because we either need trade agreements that are negotiated centrally or we need bilateral agreements on which the Government negotiates on behalf of the industry. It is not as simple as pressing a button and chasing access to a particular market. I do not disagree with the point that if we were to go in with an enhancement of Origin Green and sustainability credentials, it would be a help. We should look at what we are facing in a year's time; we face the loss of a premium market. If it could be replaced, it would be a great day's work.