Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputy Seymour Crawford.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this matter. There was rightly a great deal of concern over the past week about the loss of 2,000 jobs at Amgen in Cork. However, this debate relates to a national industry employing 7,000 people, which is worth approximately €450 million to the economy. It is not an option for these producers to relocate to Asia, eastern Europe or elsewhere. These jobs are rooted in our economy and the people involved are crying out for help in a time of crisis. There is a view that the pig market is cyclical and the latest trend is but another cycle. However, the Cathaoirleach will appreciate, as he comes from a rural constituency, that only 500 pig producers remain in the State and many are refusing to service breeding stock because they envisage no future for the industry. Slaughter weights are reducing in abattoirs to 95 kg. These trends indicate a serious crisis in this industry and if action is not taken by the Minister shortly, it will not be around for much longer.

I raised this issue by way of parliamentary question on today's Order Paper and I am appalled and alarmed by the Minister's response. She stated: "I am aware of the issues... I appreciate the argument for pig meat prices but I do not get involved... The issue of labelling is one for the Department of Health and Children... Bord Bia will undertake a promotional campaign to increase consumption." This is a case of Pontius Pilate washing their hands of the issue. If her Department had been more proactive in making Herculex grain available, for example, she could have addressed the issue of access to cheaper feeds earlier. If the national pig herd reduces much further, the industry will face issues relating to survival and economies of scales and other problems.

I would like to make a number of practical proposals. I acknowledge this is not an issue solely for Government because retailers also have a role to play, as they did in the UK regarding the liquid milk market. Tesco realised there was a problem procuring liquid milk to fill its shelves and the company made deals with producers. They asked them to stay in the industry, paid a premium for the milk and, as a consequence, the issue of scarcity of liquid milk was resolved. Fine Gael believes the increasing cost base cannot be carried only by producers and it must be shared by retailers who must pay a reasonable price to primary producers, otherwise the industry will not survive. I refer to the REPS 4 documentation and its references to pig manure as opposed to chemical fertilisers. Surely at a time when we are trying to be more environmentally friendly, we should facilitate the use of pig manure as opposed to obliging farmers to source nitrogen through chemical fertilisers. The Department needs to adopt a proactive approach on this documentation.

The Department could take on these practical proposals. This is a multifaceted problem and needs multiple approaches to resolve it, but a Minister who sits on her hands and says she is aware of the problem and the Department of Health and Children must address the labelling issue is not providing a sufficient response to an industry facing a crisis and job losses.

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