Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

That answer was so convoluted as to be meaningless, with talk of changes in systems and the collection of figures. Does the Minister of State accept that if the figures were presented clearly, they would indicate an exodus of thousands of people from the land and farming as a way of life every year? The figures exist and the Minister for Agriculture and Food gives them to me from time to time on the acreage of any crop or on any farming enterprise.

The Minister of State indicated 1980 as the change-over point but in 1970, 57,000 hectares of land were used to grow potatoes and this fell to 12,500 hectares by 2004. In the past five years, 20% of growers have left the business and more are leaving this year. That is a pattern.

Will the Minister of State come back and give us clear figures that are not confused by references to family farms and commercial farms? Since when is a family farm not commercial? It would not last long if it did not operate on a commercial basis. We must cut through the statistical jargon and tell people the truth, that the Government has done a huge disservice and stood over an amazing exodus from the land.

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