Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

Hong Kong in December 2005 will be remembered for a long time to come. The potential consequences of what will happen will shape Irish and world trade for a very long time.

I will dwell on how a bad outcome at the Hong Kong talks will impact on rural communities and Ireland's farming industry. It must be realised that the negotiations will be conducted among the heavyweight trading blocks of the world where Irish interests, for obvious reasons, will be negotiated under the EU flag. As everyone knows, world trade takes circuitous routes on agricultural matters. The US regime has a direct bearing on world food prices. On any analysis of the situation it appears the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Fischer Boel, has not alone shown her hand before the final negotiations have even started but has more or less thrown in the towel to the Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson. It appears that whatever he wants is the tune the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development seems to be dancing to. I warn the Minister for Agriculture and Food to take care they do not take her off the dance floor altogether. The Minister will find herself in a serious situation.

The farmers of Europe cannot understand the reason the EU CAP must change so often. I have not sufficient time to discuss this in detail but we all remember the guiding principles of the Treaty of Rome. The difference between then and now is like the difference between chalk and cheese. Under Agenda 2000 every farmer in the country believed they would be farming to that pattern for six years. The mid-term review in 2003 caused the biggest single change ever in European farming and Irish farmers bought into it.

I have no doubt the Minister put up as good an effort as she could but now it seems she was gunned out of it at European level. Deputy Johnny Brady will know this because he is involved with it every day of his life, but the contents of the green box which we thought were sacrosanct and which we were told would not be touched until 2013, will possibly be reviewed as a consequence of those talks in Hong Kong. Who can one believe? Who is there to represent us? I had many other points to make. The poorer nations of the world should be given greater help with their debts.

I have seen this happen at a number of world trade talks that not alone will the Minister and her colleague not be in the front row at the negotiations in Hong Kong, they will not be in the second, third or fourth rows. This is not through any fault of her own. This is the reason Commissioner Fischer Boel and Peter Mandelson are the people who have to be watched. I am a farmer but I do not earn my living from it, but if I did I would be very worried about those two people working on my behalf.

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