Mr. Cormac Healy:

Deputy Ryan spoke about a dialogue between the environmental sector and the wider agrifood industry and we have no issue with that. Indeed, it would probably help. The point was made that we should not be looking at production on a per kilo basis but on a global basis and that is fine. However, we must then have a discussion about why those people in Europe to whom the Deputy was referring are happily using agriculture as a bargaining chip to close off a deal in South America that will allow more product to be produced in a less environmentally friendly way and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. Whatever way one wants to measure it, Irish agriculture and particularly livestock, beef, lamb and dairy production, has a strong set of environmental credentials by virtue of our grass based system. Those credentials will stand up anywhere. Let us have that discussion but let us be fair about the way we have it. We never see as much focus on the transport sector, for example, which is the next largest polluter in terms of the rankings. Agriculture is certainly up there and a high contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the Irish context by virtue of the absence of other industries like mining, for example. Transport is the next largest and has increased over the last decade in terms of its emissions but agriculture, as I understand it, has not. Agriculture is trying so let us recognise that and give the sector its place as part of the solution rather than as a villain in the scheme. I would have to question where all of the jobs will come from in terms of alternative sectors. We constantly hear general discussions about jobs and the rural-urban divide. Indeed, plans were announced last week for the future development and direction of the country and whether such development will be in Dublin, Limerick or Waterford. Agriculture and food processing are generating economic activity in many rural areas and I do not hear alternatives to that being suggested and that must be highlighted. It is true that we have to do more and cannot sit back. We are under the spotlight in terms of there being more work to be done in the agricultural sector. There is more work to be done in meat and dairy processing but we must not forget the 120,000 farmers in that sector or the 50,000 direct jobs in food processing, as well as the linked jobs. They are valid economic contributors in every parish and county of Ireland and we cannot ignore them in our overall rush.

I am not sure what favours we are getting in the context of Brexit, as referred to by the Deputy. At Brussels level one will sometimes hear of a focus on Irish agriculture and certainly in the context of dairy expansion it was mentioned. However, some of the dairy expansion in Ireland by global standards was far less than that which took place in other countries within the community. That said, in percentage terms the expansion was very significant. In global terms the UK's increase in milk production was phenomenally greater than Ireland's. Our percentage was high but our overall volume increase was not so high.