Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this topic again. My colleague, Deputy Upton, has outlined the obstacles and impediments that may well face us in the immediate future, and how we should deal with them.

An inextricably linked topic is that of getting young people involved in agriculture. In the last week I met young people applying for installation aid. Inspector Clouseau would not do a better job than some of the Department officials. What is happening is an absolute scandal. Documents that are accepted by the Revenue Commissioners are being rejected. Some officials are a law unto themselves. They think they are God Almighty. In one case, instead of helping a 24-year old young man to get started on the farm he had bought, they assumed an omnipotence and operated on the basis that nobody but themselves knew anything. They are treating young farmers with contempt.

I will bring the example to the Minister to show her what has been sent back to the young farmer in question. He was in tears on Sunday when I met him. He is not even in my constituency but, as somebody who is committed to the future of rural Ireland and to the future of agriculture, I am astounded at the barriers that have been placed in his way. Installation aid of €9,000 is very important for a young farmer who has borrowed in excess of €80,000 to buy land. For the life of me I cannot understand what is going on.

The Minister has missed the boat in regard to Brazilian beef. I am disappointed that a greater effort was not made at the WTO talks. Deputy Upton is correct about what is happening there. I recently read that the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Brazil is becoming more serious; new cases are still being identified and the disease has spread beyond the original area. Efforts there to contain the disease have failed and we must be extremely vigilant in this regard. We have rightly insisted on the highest and most rigid standards in regard to food production here, which we are achieving. Adhering to these high standards is extremely important in the context of food safety and, ultimately, consumer confidence. Why should we accept beef from Brazil, or anywhere else, that does not apply the same high standards from the perspective of traceability, residue testing and general controls on movement?

It is time we put in place barriers that will ensure people can operate on a level playing pitch and that our consumers can be assured they are getting Irish beef. Perhaps we should do as the French and put a little tricolour on our beef in the way the they did with their lamb which I saw in evidence at the Rungis market. The sticker told people it was French. Much is made of our having to be great Europeans, which we are, but the French also claim they are great Europeans while at the same time demarcating their own products. Let us label our own products and let us not be afraid. That will tell people where the beef is produced and what has gone into its production. All that information is extremely important.

I studied agricultural science many years ago but I do not know what went wrong with the nitrates directive.

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