Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State's words are cold comfort for the producing and processing sectors. The monthly milk cheques being received by dairy farmers are approximately 50% of what they were 12 months ago. The political challenge we face is to ensure the industry can survive the cyclical nature of the downturn and be in a position to take advantage of the upturn in the global markets when it emerges. In light of the severity of the downturn, the reality is that many Irish dairy farmers will be out of business by the end of 2009. Is any initiative being pursued at a political level to prevent that? I acknowledge that initiatives are being ratcheted up at the various monthly meetings. They are not delivering what farmers need, however. If farmers go out of business, jobs outside the farm gate — at food industry and processing levels — will also be lost. If the Minister of State needs evidence of that, he should read Food and Drink Industry Ireland's recent report, which stated that 2,000 jobs have already been lost in this indigenous industry in 2009.

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