David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

This matter is extremely serious and these proposals are unacceptable. The Minister must reject them out of hand and she will have the support of everybody in the House to do that. There are 3,700 beet growers and as many people again depending on the industry. There are 350 of my constituents working in the Mallow sugar plant and those jobs are at risk.

The situation is serious and the Minister must do her utmost to ensure these proposals do not go forward. If the price is cut, the price to the producer will not necessarily fall — we saw what happened with coffee. The middleman will benefit from this. Sugar is worth €70 million to farmers annually and €140 million to the nation. If these proposals are allowed go ahead, they will be a fatal blow to agriculture here. The Minister must do everything in her power to stop this and reject it totally. Otherwise, agriculture as we know it here is finished.

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