Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Tugaim faoi deara óna figiúirí a thug an tAire Stáit dúinn go bhfuil laghdú ann. I appreciate that negotiations are ongoing and I hope they will have a satisfactory outcome. However, the wider issue for which the Minister of State is responsible is the overall welfare and development of the potato growing sector in Ireland. As he has clearly outlined, the fact that the total area under production has fallen from 56,835 hectares in 1970 to just 12,000 at present represents a huge decline in potato growing in a country which should be exporting its produce as we are in other sectors. It is alarming. Some 20% of growers have left the business in the past five years and more will leave this year.

Does the Minister of State have plans to develop the sector and arrest this decline? For example, does he recognise that there are particular difficulties in the seed potato sector at present? An application has been made for grant assistance in the development of the potato seed sector. More generally, if a grower is required to spend €3,000 to grow an acre of potatoes and needs to sell the crop at approximately €200 per tonne but is lucky to get €150 or €130 per tonne, how can he or she be expected to continue to grow potatoes? Is there a message in this that the Government does not expect people to continue growing potatoes in Ireland and that the sooner they sell their land for development the better? That is the message which is being sent out. Potato growers are being asked to do the impossible, to grow potatoes for less than €130 per tonne.

Has the Minister of State addressed this problem? Will he meet the IFA and the growers with a view to resolving the problem so that growers can continue to survive? They cannot do so on speculation as to what they might sell. They need a firm commitment on what they can sell. Will the Minister of State help in this regard?

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