Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was struck by the contrast between the Deputy's contribution and that made by Deputy Naughten, who represents the same constituency. As a beef and tillage farmer, I know that any farmer would wish to be free of market supports and to be able to make a living by producing top quality produce for the market. The Government has worked to create such an environment. It has worked tirelessly to bring an end to the quota regime and this will happen in the coming weeks.

Many Opposition speakers have concentrated on the challenges and risks that will be presented by this abolition, for which we pushed. I would like to mention some of the massive opportunities that exist, and not just for the primary producer. A new Glanbia plant will be opened tomorrow as part of the expansion of that company. Dairygold and the Kerry Group are also expanding. This will lead to the creation of value-added jobs - top-quality jobs for our graduates - that are linked to food and drink exports. Irish graduates who had gone abroad to work in places like Holland are coming home to work for the Kerry Group in my county of Kildare. That is an example of the positive impact these good quality jobs are having in regional and rural parts of Ireland.

It is phenomenal that approximately 10,000 jobs are to be created in this sector in the next five years. As the Minister pointed out, Ireland is the only country that is targeting 15% growth in 2015 and year-on-year growth up to 2020. I have always said we do not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to fixing our economy and improving how things operate in Ireland. We need to get back to what we are good at. The dairy industry is a perfect example of an area on which we should concentrate because we have the climate, the topography, the top quality grassland and, most importantly, the expertise among our farmers, who know how to produce more high quality dairy products into the future.

Our strong international reputation for high standards of quality safe food is absolutely key. As some of the farming organisations are represented in the Gallery this evening, I would like to take this opportunity to ask farmers who tend to complain about the inspection regime that is in place to understand that this system exists to protect them and safeguard the reputation we now enjoy. I accept that dairy farmers are less likely to do this than other farmers. It is because we have those higher standards that our beef sector, for example, is able to access markets like China and the United States before any other European country. That is in the best interests of primary producers.

I would like to refer to the 2007 and 2009 baseline figures for dairy market exports. In those years, we produced dairy products worth almost €2.2 billion. That figure had increased by almost one third to €3 billion by 2013. It is worth mentioning the dairy growth targets for the period between 2013 and 2020 in this context.

In 2007 and 2009, almost 5 billion litres were produced, in 2013, 5.5 billion litres, and the target for 2020 is 7.5 billion litres. This is a phenomenal target and with it come huge opportunities and challenges. The per capita consumption of dairy products in developing countries is expected to increase by 1.2% to 1.9% per year with the further globalisation of diets.

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