Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter and the Minister of State for taking it. There is grave concern in the Leinster area about the beet quota and the problems growers envisage in the coming harvesting season. Sowing of the seedlings was delayed because of a lack of commitment in regard to Greencore and the process of preparing the harvest has been of concern to those farmers who have earned a living from beet harvesting over the years.

There is a major problem in respect of transport in that none of the depots promised have come on stream. Last February or March, the Minister for Agriculture and Food said that one of her priorities would be to ensure that the transport issue was dealt with as a matter of urgency. That has not happened to date and no planning application has been submitted to any local authority in the general area. There were talks of one in Carlow and Portlaoise and the possible upgrading of another in Wellingtonbridge in Wexford, but none of that has happened.

The start date for the campaign is 19 September, but nothing has happened to date. If we consider the delays in the planning process, nothing will happen in time for the forthcoming beet harvest. If that happens, we will face major problems in that the farmers will attempt to access the factory in Mallow by truck from the Leinster area because no other means are available to them. No capital costs will have been made available to obtain additional wagons. Those available will only be able to deal with the Wexford area campaign and all the beet from north Leinster will have to be transported by truck. It is of major concern to the farming community that 70% of the harvest will have to travel by road, and we can all imagine what will happen in that regard.

The concern of the community is that Greencore is dragging its heels on this matter until after 22 June when the reforms will be announced by the European Commission. There is talk on the grapevine of proposals to buy out the quotas of the members on the periphery of the community. One could assume that is one of the reasons planning applications have not been made and no beet seedlings were released in time to plant early to ensure a good crop. The later the seedlings are put down, the worse the crop will be. The farming community has major concerns about the future of the beet harvest, especially in the Leinster area, because of the lack of commitment of Greencore. The one commitment the Minister for Agriculture and Food gave was that the transport matter would be resolved at the earliest opportunity, but no progress has been made.

The overall picture is bleak and seems to involve holding back until reforms come from the Commission on 22 June. One wonders where we stand on the sugar quota. The Government always talks about the golden share but it seems to be disappearing rapidly. It is no longer a question of retaining the sugar quota or maintaining a crop and an industry that has been beneficial not only to the farming community but also to the areas where it is grown, the employees of the factories in Carlow and Mallow and subsidiary industries. I hope the Minister for State and the Minister for Agriculture can give some indication as to where we will go with this and what will happen at the European Commission on 22 June.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Wall for raising this issue. I am aware of the concerns that were expressed following the closure of Carlow sugar factory in March about transport arrangements for the delivery of sugar beet to Mallow. The transport issue is one to be resolved between Irish Sugar Limited and the beet growers and I have no function that regard. I understand the two parties have been working constructively on this and other issues and I am satisfied they can devise satisfactory arrangements to deal with the new situation. The company has already announced plans for a new rail depot to assist beet growers to make their deliveries.

The European Commission recently signalled its intention to publish the formal legislative proposals for reform of the European Union sugar regime on 22 June. The Commission's initial ideas for reform as outlined in its communication of last July would, if adopted, have serious consequences for sugar beet growing and processing in this country and the Minister has made it abundantly clear in discussions in the Council of Ministers that proposals on those lines are unacceptable. Ireland is not alone in this regard. We are in a group of ten member states with shared concerns about the Commission's initial proposals and we made a joint ministerial submission to the Commission in this regard.

In our view, the aim should be to maintain the existing distribution of sugar beet and sugar production in the entire EU territory. We believe that reform should be based on the following principles: an import system from third countries which will ensure predictable and regular import quantities and it is important to remember that the poorest sugar-producing countries want an arrangement like this rather than the race to the bottom in price terms that totally free access would bring; the price reduction should be significantly less than that proposed and should be implemented more gradually; the impact of the quota reductions should fall mainly on "C" production; and transfers of quotas among member states should not be allowed.

It is generally acknowledged that reform of the sugar regime is now unavoidable for a number of reasons, in particular the developments at World Trade Organisation level and other international pressures. The recent ruling by the WTO appellate body will certainly add to the pressure for reform and there have been suggestions that when the reform proposals emerge, they may be even more severe than originally anticipated. Therefore, we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge facing us when the reform proposals come before the Council of Ministers in the autumn. Ireland's primary objective in the forthcoming negotiations will be to ensure that the future shape of the European Union sugar regime is consistent with the continuation of an efficient sugar beet growing and processing industry in this country.