Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Government, I wish Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív the best of luck in his new portfolio which is the most exciting either in opposition or government. I also welcome the motion. I suggest to Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív that a motion on agriculture be tabled every month because every spokesperson has spoken about the positive aspects of agriculture and the importance of the way in which the industry is developed in the next nine months. The announcement made by Kerry Group is very important in this regard. The company has led the way - as Kerry people do - with its announcement yesterday. As some Members said, there are many small companies which are full of enthusiasm to get going. I was in the Slieve Bloom area in Deputy Barry Cowen's constituency where I met people with great products who needed a boost. I have no doubt that we will see new companies and hear more announcements like the one made yesterday.

We all know that the farming community is not afraid to accept whatever cuts are necessary. The Government was complimented on the manner in which it had produced the budget last year. I had not been involved in the making of arrangements for a budget previously, but the Minister made sure everything in the Department was accounted for. This meant that the size of the cuts to be made in the budget could be minimised. That is what we will do in the upcoming budget also.

The AEOS was announced at the national ploughing championships. My telephone was hopping because people were delighted with the announcement. Those involved the IFA were particularly delighted. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív is in opposition, but he will know that the Government is a leader in the European Union in how it deals with the agriculture industry.

This morning I attended a meeting with grain importers at which a speaker from France made some interesting points. Since 2002, he told us, 1 million sheep per year have disappeared out of Europe, with beet numbers and dairy cow numbers likewise declining dramatically. The negotiations on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy afford all of us in the European Union an opportunity to move forward. Ireland is the leading light in Europe in terms of beef exports and in the production of quality beef and dairy products. I take this opportunity to welcome the announcement by the Kerry Group yesterday regarding the creation of 900 jobs in County Kildare. We must work to maintain our position in the sector.

We are all - the Government, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group - speaking with one voice on this issue, with the backing of the Irish Farmers Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association. Our shared objective is to achieve the maximum amount of funding for Ireland from the CAP reform process and thereafter to have the right to distribute that funding as we see fit, to farmers in the northwest, the west and everywhere else in the country. We must encourage productivity on every hectare. Some people need a lift in terms of the premium they receive. Some farmers will not just have what they always had. The onus is on us to ensure that people understand the importance of farming to this country. I am still laughing at the story Deputy Sean Fleming told in the Chamber this evening about a sum of €100 and the circle it created in the space of half an hour. It was a fantastic story about how that modest sum satisfied seven people in the one parish and ended up back with the person who initially laid it out. The message was that money makes money. It is our responsibility to ensure that every cent is put back into communities. I am in favour of having a debate on agriculture every month for the next nine months. Members opposite should not worry; we will be well able to accommodate that. Nor should they be concerned about underspends.

I will conclude my referring to forestry, my own industry. The Department has decided to issue financial approvals for 1,500 hectares of new forestry planting for the current autumn planting season. Planting grants in respect of some 5,250 hectares have already been paid this year and we estimate there will be 6,900 hectares planted in the full year. We might find we have overspent in the forestry sector, but we will get the money somewhere.

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