Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the incoming Minister, Deputy McConalogue, well in his new role. He and I were first elected to Dáil Éireann on the same day and I wish him the very best in a role which has become something of a boat trip through the Bermuda Triangle in this Dáil. I hope that has come to an end and that Deputy McConalogue will be able to bring some stability to a role that desperately needs stability.

I agree with previous Deputies on the need to revitalise the beef task force and perhaps replace it with a new forum that is functioning. The current task force was simply something to get Fine Gael over an election and it seems to have achieved its only purpose in that sense. It certainly has not shone a light on the beef sector in Ireland, a light that needs to be shone not just in terms of how it treats farmers but also how it treats workers, as Deputy Kelly noted, and how it treats consumers and everybody else right across the sector, including Irish taxpayers. Like Deputy Fitzmaurice, I also wish to highlight the problems in the forestry sector and the necessity of reform.

I wish the incoming Minister the best of luck in his role. The Taoiseach's predecessor as Fianna Fáil leader once described the Department of Health as Angola. That Department has gone on to run the country, as we have seen in recent times. Perhaps the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will have a brighter future under Deputy McConalogue.

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