Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)

I spent some time this morning writing a five-minute speech to deliver this afternoon but I have decided to scrap it. I had intended to speak briefly about the EU budget, the foot-dragging that is taking place and the knock-on effect for the Structural Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the rural development funds and so on. I intended to mention that for the 11th year in a row the European Court of Auditors could not sign off on the EU budget and that the Finance Ministers last month refused to sign a declaration of assurances on their accounts.

I intended also to speak briefly on the World Trade Organisation negotiations and how Peter Mandelson is definitely going beyond his remit when it comes to agriculture and how Tony Blair does not seem to realise we have had Common Agricultural Policy reform. I intended to speak about the information deficit, referred to by many Deputies, and Margot Wallström and her plan D, where she speaks about debate, dialogue and democracy, so that citizens have some opportunity to know what is going on in the EU.

I was particularly interested in and taken with what Deputy Quinn said about the European week. It is an excellent suggestion to which I hope the Minister will pay attention. He is talking about a real, down to earth way of translating theory into reality so that people who are interested have an opportunity to see how EU legislation impacts on their lives and how it is not just something going on in Brussels. I hope the Minister will take note of what Deputy Quinn said as some of his ideas were excellent.

While all these points are worth making and the debate has been informative, citizens need more than information from the EU. They need to see results. They need to see the EU working for them, protecting their interests and making a positive difference in their lives. The reason I have decided to change what I was going to say was that I have come from Buswells Hotel where I met a delegation of pig farmers who are extremely concerned about their livelihoods under the proposed nitrates directive. These farmers got no help from the EU, yet these new proposals can literally put them out of business. That is real life. We can talk about information, the European constitution, globalisation — we need to do so — but if the EU does not work for its citizens, then to some extent it is all hot air because nobody is listening to us.

Pig farmers are genuinely concerned they are going out of business. This comes down to excessive regulation and changes in the regulation, for example, the amount of nitrogen considered to be deposited on land by a sow has overnight been increased from 67 kg to 80 kg with target indices reduced from three to two. I listened to the farmers and I said I do not know how anybody farms in Ireland because of the excess regulation with which people must live. Some of those decisions come overnight. How can those farmers trust the EU and trust it is looking out for their interests? One farmer said to me there is a global picture here. We all live on a small planet and we have a good deal of regulation here.

If pigs are being produced in Monaghan, Roscommon or Sligo, at least they are being produced under certain conditions. If Irish pig farmers go out of business, that pigmeat will be produced somewhere else in the world but not under the same kind of regulation. At the end of the day, those trying to save the planet to some extent are damaging it. That is a general statement and there are details in it that need to be worked out. As a general statement it is true.

There are other Irish farmers who must have traceability from farm to fork, and so they should. New veterinary legislation is being implemented which makes life more difficult for them. They must compete with imports from South America where they are not working on a level playing pitch and where animals are produced under very different conditions. European farmers are concerned that the European model of agriculture is not being protected by the EU. Other workers look to the services directives and hope their jobs will be protected while at the same time it will boost competitiveness within the EU.

I agree with what Deputy Quinn said about the EU Council of Ministers making laws in public. That is a decision that could be taken overnight and it is a positive sign to EU citizens.

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