Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As the legislation in question is a Bill to consolidate existing legislation, it is not envisaged that the issue raised by the Deputy will be incorporated in the Bill. The legislation is in a public consultation process which must be completed before the heads of the Bill are prepared.

Although the second issue the Deputy raised is not fully in order according to the Ceann Comhairle, it is an important matter. It has come into sharp relief in the past six to nine months and it is having a major affect on the World Food Programme and on UN agencies and export tariffs are being raised by countries which are not exporting. Rice, for example, is a staple food for billions of people and its price has trebled in the past four months. There is real worry about what is happening. It would be an excellent subject to debate in due course.

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