Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I thank Senator Henry for putting down the motion and I have much pleasure in seconding it. Senator Henry concentrated on the area of health, in which she has so much expertise, but I intend to touch on the areas of food and trade with which I am more familiar.

The motion contains the words "monetary and otherwise" in terms of aid to developing countries. We often talk about financial aid for these countries without even noticing what we do in the other field which is at least as important, namely, the area of trade.

As part of the European Union, Ireland is a participant in the Common Agricultural Policy. We are among its most enthusiastic supporters. Whenever there is the merest whisper of dragging this policy into the real world, there is a deafening chorus of protest across the country.

In a debate in this House some weeks ago, I spoke out strongly against this country's refusal, and that of Europe, to reform the CAP. I detailed how this was a short-sighted policy which short-changed the vast bulk of European consumers without providing even a decent living to those who live and work on the land. I was referring to the agricultural community.

I also said at that time, and this is what I want to focus on this evening, that there is an even larger number of people who are being short-changed by the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, namely, the peoples of the developing world. This is happening in two ways. The CAP undermines and works against any help we offer to the people in these countries by way of development aid. On the one hand we keep their produce out of our markets, but on the other hand we undermine the prices for them elsewhere in the world by flooding other markets with subsidised agricultural products that we produce here. We beat our breasts about the need to help these developing countries as long as that help is delivered in the least suitable way in the form of gifts or cash. We give with one hand while using the other to hold them back from trading in the only products in which they can trade. That is not only bad economics, it is a morally rotten way for us to behave.