Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for his questions. He ranged over three different areas: GLAS, the beef genomics scheme and GMOs. He has also raised the issue of the decline in the number of farmers at European level, although he did not define what he considers to be a rancher in Irish terms. He made the point about rural development programmes. The enthusiasm and energy that was evident at the recent National Ploughing Championship from people all over the country, most of whom were small farmers, was self-evident. Every agricultural course in every agricultural college is booked out because young people now see the agri sector as central to their future ambitions and careers. GLAS will see the participation of 50,000 farmers, all of whom are small to medium-size farmers and not ranchers by Irish standards. The Common Agricultural Policy, with the extra €100 million thrown in for the rural development programme, the recent allocation in respect of the programme for the next number of years dealing with CEDRA, and the putting in place of a national strategy to allow communities, including family farms, to draw and avail of assistance are there for all to see.

I do not accept the Deputy's assertion at all that the Irish agri sector is in any way in decline. Of course, the lifting of milk quotas is not responsible in itself for the decline in milk prices. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, fought a good battle at European level to get an extra €13 million, which will be distributed based on the recommendations of the dairy forum, an important institution for dairy farmers - who are all, by the way, carbon-footprinted and contributing greatly to the future economic development of the country. Clearly, the beef trade can fluctuate, and factories have always had their influence in terms of setting prices. That is why we have managed to get access to the American market, the Japanese market for specialised cuts and the Chinese market. These are opportunities that must be worked on over the next period.

There is no commercial cultivation of GMO crops in Ireland, as the Deputy is aware. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the different agencies continue to discuss and consider the revised legislation on genetically modified cultivation and what, if any, are the practical and legal implications for the future. It is considered that acting to restrict cultivation where no cultivation would occur is unnecessary. Irish GMO policy, including in relation to the opt-out clause, which Ireland supported when first proposed, is continuously kept under review on the basis of experience and the approaches across member states. Ireland can still opt out of GM cultivation beyond the deadline of 3 October. None of the currently authorised GM crops will be cultivated in Ireland.

As such, while the Deputy paints a depressing picture of the agri sector, it is fundamentally central to the development of the economy for the next ten, 15 and 20 years.

There are challenges in there, but will dealing with this issue in a carefully structured way not lead to the futures and the ambitions and the livelihoods of thousands of family farms in the country?

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