Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The pay rates in the agricultural and processing sectors are on the lower end of the scale and any change in that brings about problems with competitiveness straightaway. Equally, it causes problems in recruitment. When people are paid €9 or €10 an hour but companies and factories can pay more, people drift out of the agricultural sector. In the short and medium term that can be addressed by work permits but for the long-term sustainability of agriculture and to ensure that there is a constant pool of people with skills and who are interested in making a career beyond the traditional farm manager and farm apprenticeship schemes we have to be more creative and imaginative in terms of policy and within the industry. When the Minister talks to the industry in general that is a key point that he should make. The industry must become an attractive one so that people will want to forge a career out of it, not only by owning farms but in all the sectors through to processing.

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