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

It is very hard to retreat and they have been cheerled by too many in this House in the past. I was not one of the people cheerleading, thank God. Regarding beef producer organisations, how many applications have been received and how many have been processed? Will the Minister ensure that they are set up with such a structure that they do not start running from Billy to Jack when somebody gets an extra cent here or there? Those organisations should be legally sound and give farmers strength and muscle to take on those boys once and for all once the beef task force is up and running. A difficult situation lies ahead of us. I know many of the people protesting outside but at the end of the day, the Minister cannot deal with 100 different voices looking for 100 different solutions. That is why the beef task force is the only way forward now.

See this speech in context