Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Kitt was my predecessor as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs. There is now much more co-ordination between agriculture, trade and development Ministers in the EU. That was very evident at Hong Kong in the private meetings, and also in some more public pronouncements. Obviously, one would hope there would be more and that we in Ireland could be more coherent. We will address that subject in our White Paper, which I intend publishing in September. We hope to conclude work on it during the summer and then put it to the Cabinet.

Regarding the Private Sector Forum, there is room for much more involvement from Irish private sector companies. The Private Sector Forum, which was established by Deputy Kitt, has borne fruit. I do not mean that facetiously, since it is focused on a Ugandan food project involving fruit and biscuits and how they can be brought into retail outlets in Ireland and Britain. That has become a practical success story, and we are very proud that such engagement can be continued and improved.

The broader issue of coherence concerns the European Union. There were very coherent discussions in Hong Kong, and people are becoming more coherent and talking more for the precise reason that Deputy Quinn outlined. Europe is doing great things on development but receiving very little credit for it. The Everything but Arms initiative has had an enormous impact on least-developed countries, and it is now being extended, albeit haltingly, since other countries are adopting it. Europe took the lead in granting total quota- and duty-free access to the wealthiest markets in the world.

The others present at Hong Kong and in those countries can learn from Europe, which is taking the initiative. A great many simplistic rationales are thrown at European agriculture, which is being reformed very vigorously. The Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, has stated that people, including farmers, need time to trade out of their subsidy regime, and that will happen between now and 2013. The Taoiseach is right to take that view from both a European and a national interest perspective.

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