Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleague, I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this very important subject for the simple reason that the agrifood sector is indeed a core part of this State's economy. I believe that when the boom years were in full swing, little attention was paid to the agriculture sector on the basis that there were other more lucrative ways of making a living. Deputy O'Donovan put it well in the sense that agriculture is one of the most important industries in the State. It is an industry that is readily able to provide an income to farm families and to provide an income to people in the industrial sector, the processing sector and the services sectors. In agriculture we also have an industry which is progressing dramatically and which is benefiting to a huge extent from its embrace of the computer age.

It needs to be recognised that we cannot develop the agrifood sector in isolation. The European Union must be with us in dealing with the issues that arise from time to time, in particular trade agreements - those pending and those in place - and in the extent to which concessions can be made in the course of such arrangements, debates and negotiations. We need to be forever careful to ensure we do not lose out in what is a central part of our economy. There is a tendency to do that when negotiations are taking place at a global level. I have every confidence in the European Commissioner, Phil Hogan, to work on behalf of the European Union and to the benefit of the agrifood sector in this State, which he always did, knowing the importance of the sector as a central part of our economy.

We must get away from the notion that is beginning to gain momentum - in this House also - that the European Union should be treated with a certain amount of contempt and to be avoided if at all possible. The European Union is hugely important in marketing our goods and, with a population of 500 million plus people, in being a marketplace. It is a huge advantage to have, particularly if one is selling a product that everybody has to use in the course of every day, week, month and year. We should never lose sight of the fact that the agrifood business is central to our economy and is likely to remain so for as long as we are around. I emphasise that if we depart or detach ourselves from the European project on this or any other issue, we are visitors to the table as opposed to being part of it. We need to recognise that we are all Europeans. We should avail of whatever is available to the people of Europe, as is our entitlement. If we do not do that and we opt out, we would then be treated as visitors at that table, a place we should not be.

As time moves on, challenges appear, for example, the removal of the milk quotas. That creates challenges. The one thing about any industry, be it agriculture, the motor industry, the service industry or whatever the case may be, is that they must be managed on the basis of events. I remind Members of the famous phrase by a certain gentleman in another jurisdiction: "Events, dear boy, events." Those events will affect us all in the future, so I congratulate the outgoing Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and wish the incoming Minister well, as we do with the new leadership within the IFA.

With regard to farming representatives nationally, the IFA leadership role is a very important position. It is a position negotiator at a very important level with Government, whoever might be in it. The leadership has to be responsible on the one hand and be representative on the other hand. I wish the organisations well as they perform a very important role, as trade unions perform a very important role.

With regard to the challenges - I will not say threats - of the future, we all have to be aware that the industry must be monitored carefully and we must identify the predatory issues before they become a serious challenge to us. We need to isolate the issues and respond to them within the confines of the regulations as they apply to Europe and the global economy. Failure to do so will mean, unfortunately, that we could become isolated and could be considered as continuous protesters. We are an integral part of the European complex of economies. It is very important that we recognise that. It is very important as we proceed into the future that we continue to give our best.

When this country was on its knees, and it was not so many years ago. economically everything was falling apart. I am not blaming any politician or anybody inside or outside this House for that, but by virtue of a series of circumstances, we found ourselves in a place that we did not want to be. Agriculture was one of the areas that rose to the occasion and did its job well, effectively, efficiently and in the shortest possible space of time. This needs to be recognised now and into the future. If we fail to do so and do not nurture industries like the agrifood sector, which requires that degree of management all the time, then we will pay a high price for it. In recent years we have developed our economy in a more balanced way. I hope this will continue - it is imperative that it does - and that the management required from time to time takes place in a non-invasive way for a positive effect and benefit to the Irish economy, to those who are directly involved and to those who depend on the sector for a living.

The Ceann Comhairle is aware I do not come from a maritime county but he will readily assert I am sure there are more harbours in County Kildare than there are in most other counties. They are canal harbours of course, as we all know quite well, because we have an abundance of canals there. We should not discuss the agrifood sector without mentioning the fishing sector also and the changes that have been and had to be made over the years. Reference has been made recently to some elements of the fishing sector who do not abide by the rules, especially the discard rules. There appear to be abuses and I ask that this be borne in mind. The discard rules were abandoned for two very good reasons. One was for the sheer waste involved and the second was the degree to which restocking and conservation were being undermined. I hope a lesson has been learnt from that situation and that we do not allow ourselves to drift slowly and inexorably back into the way things used to happen by stealth.

I do not want to spend too much time on the matter but my colleague, Deputy O'Donovan, referred to the famous bird, the hen harrier. It is incomprehensible that a person who is unfortunate enough to have their property designated as a heritage site, or whatever the case may be, would not receive some kind of compensation or recognition for the displacement of their and their family's industry, income and livelihood over the foreseeable future.

I accept entirely, and I am sure the Acting Chairman would agree with me, that we must have conservation rules and regulations but not to the exclusion of life and human beings. In the same way that we must have heritage sites, we need drainage as well. We need drainage in farmlands up and down the country. There is no good waiting for a flood to take place while avoiding the issue of drainage, something which is simple, natural, has taken place over thousands of years and has worked very effectively. It would be incongruous for someone sitting at a desk somewhere suddenly to decide that we no longer need that particular facility any more because we do need it. We avoid these issues at our peril.

I will make a last point on dealing with essential issues such as this one. If one's house goes on fire, one sends for the fire brigade. One does not ask the fire brigade where it got the water or how much it will cost; one puts out the fire. One of the things we need to do about flooding and designated areas etc. is to recognise that there has to be a life thereafter. Whatever it is we need to do now to intervene in a positive way on behalf of those situated in rural Ireland, we need to do it first and we need then to move on and do all the conservation that we require as well.

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