Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The bottom line is that beef is also being exported to China. Anywhere I have been as Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have invariably been accompanied by someone from Bord Bia with new product lines and interested in exporting to new markets. We need a bit of balance and proportion.

I take the Deputy's point with regard to the farmers in the his area. In the context of the new Common Agricultural Policy and the next one, we need to support farmers in disadvantaged areas, which the ACRES scheme does, as well as other schemes, including those relating to biodiversity. I would increase the funding of those schemes. The carbon tax was introduced to allow us to give ring-fenced funding to farming. This means that if, for example, someone has to protect a rare species on their land, they will be adequately compensated-----

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