Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am just about to conclude, if you could just give me 30 seconds, Acting Chairman. I want to respect you.

The pig market is in crisis. There is no sign of it climbing out of the doldrums. I know Sean Brady, Sean Murphy, Bernard Gilsenan, Ollie Leddy and all those people involved. I do not always agree with the IFA, but in recent weeks it has called for the formation of an industry forum for the pig sector analogous to that which operates currently for the dairy and beef sectors, incorporating producers, processors, millers, banks and other stakeholders. We need to develop a long-term strategy for the future viability of the pig industry - otherwise, it will be gone. I will leave Deputies with this figure. Significant producers who are at the heart of the industry - they are at the coalface - tell me that, on average, a 600 sow unit is losing as much as €5,000 per week. That is not sustainable. Pig producers are important in rural Ireland as well.

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