John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I support my colleague, Deputy Seán Fleming, in calling on Greencore to ensure that malting barley growing and malt production will continue in Ireland should it sell its commercial entity. Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and Laois have been to the forefront in growing malting barley through the generations. It is recognised that they produce the best malting barley in Europe and they have consistently done so. I am concerned that Greencore does not have a commitment to ensure that malting barley will continue to be grown here. To lose this valuable product would devastate the farming sector in the south east. There would also be a loss of jobs in the depots in County Wexford, including the Minch depot in Enniscorthy and three others.

We already lost the beet industry, which was a major loss to farmers in the south east and it would devastate them completely if we lost the malting barley industry. Despite the fact that Greencore is a commercially independent company I expect the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department to ensure that in any sale it would protect the livelihoods of our malting barley growers and ensure that malting barley growing and malt production would continue in this country for many years to come.

As Deputy Fleming indicated, Guinness and malting barley production go hand in hand in Ireland. It would be a major blow to the economy if a company from France purchases Greencore Malt and closes down production here. There is a genuine fear among farmers in the south east that this will happen. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that it does not happen and also that the livelihoods of farmers involved in growing malting barley will be protected.

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