Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Creed for sharing time. We face one of the greatest threats to Irish agriculture we have seen since we entered the EU. On many previous occasions, negotiations took place day and night to preserve Irish agriculture. On this occasion, the threat is even greater in so far as we do not know what are the Minister's intentions with regards to Irish agriculture.

Is the Irish agricultural industry to be sold out as against preservation in other areas? It is my belief that we have clear signs this is so. When the Minister states we will have a deal sooner or later, my response, as is the response of many Irish agricultural people and families, is that it would be better to have no deal than a bad deal at this time.

From Donegal to Kerry and west Cork, the Minister will find the majority of farming households and holdings are essentially dependent on two aspects of Irish agriculture, namely, suckler herds and their produce and sheep farming. Numbers in both of these are declining rapidly on an annual basis. This is particularly true with regard to sheep where numbers have dropped to 40,000. If we must have a reduction of up to 70% in trade tariffs how can we expect the survival of this aspect of Irish agriculture, which is so pivotal to the survival of agriculture in the west of the country?

Profitability in sheep has gone. If this were replicated in beef, as is outlined by farming organisations, we will lose out substantially and the entire suckler herd will be sent for slaughter, as happened in the past, only to be reintroduced by new schemes again. We have no consistency. It behoves the Minister to outline immediately absolute opposition to the deal on the table. It will be a bad one and as I stated, it would be better to have no deal than a bad one. Irish agriculture expects the Minister to clearly and unequivocally state that she will veto any plan which does not allow Irish agriculture to prosper.

We must consider the tremendous efforts made by various agricultural groups and the industry itself to negotiate foreign markets for quality Irish produce. We could throw it all away and be devastated by the Minister's failure to deliver in this instance. If we are discussing food safety, during the past 12 months we had to endure the situation with regard to Brazilian beef imports. If we are discussing security of food, not necessarily in Ireland but on the world scene, and during the past week the World Bank mentioned security of food supplies and starvation in the world, how can we reconcile this with what we are promised under the Mandelson deal? In the interests of the preservation of farming communities and employment in this country, it is imperative that the Minister declare she will use the veto.

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