David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I wish my constituency colleague opposite all the best in his important work on behalf of the State. We will look after the shop while he is away. It is a very serious situation.

I wish to make two points. I refer to developing countries as underdeveloped countries. They are the countries with no chance at all. Over thousands of years they have been robbed of their wealth, prosperity and people through slavery and they have never recovered. We must look after those underdeveloped countries. They are not even at the level of developing countries. Many Members have received representations from constituents and concerned people on this issue and I ask the Minister to ensure this happens.

I have just come from a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs. I was very perturbed at what I learned there. It appears the sugar industry is more or less finished and the committee was also told the pig industry is in difficulties because of the nitrates directive, which means that industry will also be gone. Other crops such as malting barley are in trouble. That crop is gone from the part of the country represented by the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ahern, and myself. Agriculture is in trouble in Ireland. I said in Mallow two weeks ago that the Minister needs to get out there and we want to support her in her work at European level on behalf of Irish farmers and Irish agriculture. I know she is doing her best. The Opposition wants to support her in her work because it is really crucial.

I will be attending a meeting of farmers in my area this evening. They are depressed, in trouble and worried. They ask what they can do, what they can grow and what the alternatives are, but there are none. Perhaps the Minister can tell the House what are the alternatives. The situation for Irish farmers seems to be bleak and very serious. They need answers and results. We all want to support the Minister in her work because it is of vital national importance that she succeeds.

The sugar beet industry seems to be gone and there is nothing to replace it. The production of biofuels has been discussed for years, almost as long as I have been in this House which is eight years, and still nothing has happened fast enough. The alternatives are not there for farmers. There will be a flight from the land, with much of it left idle. Other colleagues have made the point that if an international crisis occurs, we could find ourselves hungry in this country. This is an island nation and we can see what is happening in Irish Ferries where a dispute causes a national problem. We are totally dependent on foreign imports. If we become dependent on food imports, we could find ourselves hungry for the first time in a long time if anything goes wrong. I wish the Minister the best of luck at the talks.

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