Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on agriculture and rural affairs in general. I also welcome the Minister's comments on young farmers and the pressure he is coming under from Teagasc in regard to teaching numbers in agricultural colleges. There is a college in Pallaskenry in my constituency, which I have mentioned to the Minister on a number of occasions, and the teaching numbers in it are being stretched. If we are to deliver the type of education we require for the next generation of farmers, we require a level of investment there.

I welcome the recent announcements by many of the dairy companies, in particular in the Munster area, of significant capital investment, which was not referred to by any of the Opposition speakers. This will create real and tangible jobs in the Limerick, Cork and Kerry areas. I also welcome the Minister's comments on producer organisations and the possibility of negotiating on behalf of farmers.

The most regrettable thing missing from the Fianna Fáil motion is not statistics or a reference to the Lisbon treaty, which it negotiated. Deputy Ó Cuív went out of his way to oppose it at the time.

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