Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

The Manuel school of politics in Fianna Fáil is alive and well. "I know nothing" is the refrain, or "I would rather not know".

When asked last week whether her Department had prepared estimates on the impact of the world trade deal, the Minister replied that a "final analysis" was not yet completed. That is convenient for her. There will be no front page headlines to highlight the extent of the potential damage. There will be no "Prime Time" investigations into the future of Irish agriculture and no public humiliation on radio talk shows. Fortunately, those involved in the industry have taken it on themselves to assess the effect of Commissioner Mandelson's generosity. His proposals will devastate the agriculture sector and will have a disastrous knock-on effect on its associated industries. It is predicted that a 70% tariff cut on beef imports will see prices plummet to €2 per kilo. Does the Minister realistically expect the Irish beef industry to survive with such price levels? In a document on the Irish food and drink industry that was distributed to all Deputies today, the Irish Dairy Industries Association pointed out that the European dairy industry has had to withdraw its support for the WTO negotiations as it has become clear that the EU is continuing to reduce all available mechanisms to balance the market should the need exist. In the same document, Meat Industry Ireland, which has continued to monitor the situation closely, suggests that recent developments have been very dangerous from an Irish agrifood perspective and highlights the negative impact of import tariff cuts in the meat sector at domestic and European Union level. Does the Minister believe that Irish farmers can survive if prices are reduced to €2 per kilo?

The future of the Irish beef industry, which provides 100,000 jobs — half at farm gate and half in the food processing industry — and is worth €4 billion, is at stake in the context of the WTO talks. We need to protect the way of life of family farms from Malin Head to Mizen Head. At best, there is an indifference on the Government benches to the consequences of the WTO discussions and, at worst, there is a lack of political will to face the issues concerned. There are rumours that the Minister is preparing to fly the coop from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to new pastures. If this deal is her legacy to Irish agriculture, she may run but she will never be allowed to hide. It seems that the Government sees rural Ireland as the Achilles heel in our economic development. It is estimated that 25% of jobs outside Dublin depend on agriculture. Will the Minister's colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, be pleased when everyone in rural Ireland is forced to turn off all the lights, park the tractors and take the train to the capital?

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