Mr. Tim Cullinan:

Deputy Browne is correct. The UK voted to leave in 2016. He asked a straight question, that is, what was the IFA doing about it. We were centre stage and out front before any Government or other organisation. We held a conference in Goffs, County Kildare. It was attended by Phil Hogan, the then Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. We explained to him how serious the situation was. The IFA has the benefit of being linked to COPA-COGECA in Brussels. We have been highlighting the issue there. To be honest, the Deputy is correct. We wish to be clear that we are a small nation on the periphery of Europe. We are the country that will be most affected by this. The IFA has been highlighting that since the night of the Brexit vote. We have seen the consequences that can occur. We are seeing that playing out this evening again. I do not know what the Government was doing. It was probably slower off the mark than the IFA was. In fairness, I suppose it was difficult for the Government because the negotiations are between the UK and the EU. That is still the case.

The Deputy asked which sector is most affected? An important sector in the Deputy's part of County Tipperary is the mushroom sector. The mushroom trade was wiped out at an early stage. All sectors in agriculture will be seriously affected, but the mushroom and beef sectors are the two critical ones that will be affected.

As regards big farms, this has nothing to do with being a big farmer or a small farmer. It will affect every farmer straight up.

The Deputy referred to the suckler brand and asked where that is at with the beef task force. It was agreed in principle that a stakeholder group would be set up by the Minister to drive this new brand for beef. There will be a meeting of the beef task force. My understanding is there will be another meeting next week. I will be taking up the issue at that meeting. My understanding is that the group must be set up at the next meeting and it will start implementing measures around developing that brand going forward.

Deputy Michael Collins asked almost the same question regarding which sector will be most at risk. He asked about cheese. I know that one of the larger retailers in Ireland was processing Irish cheese in the UK but it has diverted it back to Deputy Collins's county. That cheese is being processed in Cork as we speak.

I do not represent fishermen but I do represent the aquaculture sector. It is another sector in respect of which there are many issues. We will not get into that this evening. The fishery sector has been sacrificed for many years. What is going on there is concerning.

Deputy Ring made the point that farmers need support from Europe. We have been front and centre on that issue. I was one of the people lobbying in Europe for that funding last summer. As I stated, very few other member states were doing so. It is important that the message be taken from this meeting of the committee that there were two countries seeking that €5 billion, of which we were one. The IFA was centre stage with the Taoiseach last July in that regard. We have to ensure as much as possible that the money is ring-fenced for Ireland. In the European Parliament last night there was significant support from other member states for our situation, which is very important. We want to work on that.

On the issue of the cost of food, Deputy Ring raised a very important point that I raised yesterday. There are imports coming into this country. We are all going to suffer; it is not just farmers who will suffer. Every citizen of this country will suffer because of Brexit. Once there are restrictions on product coming into the country, the cost of food will only go in one direction. If a product is scarce, all present know that it will cost more.

On the role of the Government, the state aid rules were lifted during Covid. That has to be continued because the Government is going to have to put its hand in its pocket and co-fund money we are getting from Europe. This situation is going to cost billions of euro. The cost for agriculture alone will be €1.5 billion for agriculture per year.

I agree with the Deputy regarding paperwork. The last thing any farmer wishes to see is more paperwork. It is absolutely essential that it is kept to a minimum.

On the issue of standards, that goes back again to the level playing field. We have been consistently lobbying on this issue. In fairness, our colleagues in farm organisations in the UK and Northern Ireland have asked me specifically to help them lobby on standards. We were trying to get that message driven home from the very start of this process.

My final word on this is that the key issue is that, obviously, we wish to see a deal being struck. We are very concerned by the situation as of this evening. If we do not get a deal, funding will be absolutely critical for this sector going forward.