Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Government policy needs to recognise the unique role of small farmers and producers, who provide incredibly high-quality food but are highly vulnerable to economic forces. While we pay lip service to this model of agriculture, as in the Minister of State's response, the reality is that farmers are being forced into fewer and fewer areas - mainly dairy - because it is the only way to make their farms viable. It is so short-sighted. Crucially, in terms of food security, greater diversity creates greater resilience. There are additional benefits that the Minister of State touched on in her response, including the fact that it helps create produce that can be marketed and used to attract tourism. I think west Cork is a really good example of what can be done there. However, this type of approach is at serious risk without any supports. Rather than just paying lip service to it, we need to really look at a return to practical local processing facilities, such as small abattoirs. As the Minister of State said, we need to look to other countries. In France, for example, producers can go to the Rungis International Market in Paris and trade themselves, giving them greater control. We could also look at Irish examples of that with some of our farmers' markets.

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