Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have an opportunity to participate in this discussion on the real opportunity that exists for Ireland in this sector. When the curtain came down on milk production in Ireland 30 years ago, it stifled people in rural areas, particularly young farmers who wanted to get involved in milk production. We are now facing a new dawn that will bring huge opportunities for many people in rural Ireland who are yearning and crying out to get involved in milk production. I returned to my constituency in County Tipperary on a Wednesday night six weeks ago to meet approximately 300 young farmers who had gathered in a hall to try to get information on the grants that are available and on how to get involved in this growing industry. Deputy Creed mentioned that approximately 3,000 jobs could be created in Cork. I believe between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs will be created in Tipperary simply as a result of the expansion of the dairy industry. Deputies will be familiar with the announcements made by Dairygold and Glanbia, which is opening a new facility tomorrow. Two weeks ago, Arrabawn launched a €30 million programme of investment involving Teagasc, the dairy co-operatives and the University of Limerick. This will involve undertaking further research on the whole dairy industry and looking into the future to check what the markets are.

When an industry like dairying is on the crest of expansion, it must consider where it can sell its products, such as the various ingredients that are made from the milk that is produced on the land of Ireland. On the basis of my experience in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I have no doubt that there are huge opportunities across the world for milk exports. The Irish Dairy Board is now working with the co-operatives to try to develop the growing middle-class market in South Africa. There are opportunities in the Chinese market and throughout the world. In January 2014, I stood in a supermarket and saw a German housewife picking out Irish butter above any other butter. She did so because it is produced from an environment that is second to none. Ireland is established right across the world as having a clean environment and producing a unique type of butter and milk. That is what we should be standing up for. We are on the crest of a huge opportunity for this country. Rather than knocking this country and talking about its disadvantages, we should see the opportunities and seize the challenges that exist for it.

There are certainly signposts of which we should be aware. I agree with those who spoke earlier about the dangers of over-enthusiasm. In the past, people got involved in over-borrowing. We saw it in the 1980s, when people borrowed too much and interest rates went higher. I caution young people, in particular, about the need to be careful and prudent and to cost what they are doing. We do not want to revisit the mistakes of the past. We have a good story. We are producing a high quality product that we can market all over the world. The source of that product is the family farm, which we want to protect. This Government has stood solidly behind the protection of the family farm, the people on the land and the many rural communities that depend on agriculture. As I said, we have to be very careful about the dangers of over-borrowing and over-expansion. Deputy O'Reilly asked me to mention the recent expansion of Lakeland Dairies in his part of the world, where land is poor and farming is difficult. That company announced last week that it intends to create 83 jobs, with another 180 jobs in the construction phase.

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