John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

Yes, compulsory tillage as a means of making people fitter. I welcome the Minister and I am pleased he has stayed in the House for the debate. Senator Quinn has outlined what I wished to say about the Bill and I echo his sentiments. I have listened to the contributions of the Minister and the Government Senators and I am not convinced of any genuine, strong argument contained therein which would suggest there would be a benefit in the merging of Bord Bia and An Bord Glas. The current situation is more desirable than anything that has been proposed today in the House.

Farming is at a difficult juncture at present. There is also a crisis of confidence among consumers about the products on sale. Agriculture is experiencing difficulties. I fail to see how this proposed merger will tackle any of those issues. My colleague, Senator Coonan, spoke about the funding of Teagasc. I raised this issue on a number of occasions in the House. The funding for Teagasc was cut in last year's budget by €17 million and it was cut again this year by a smaller amount. This will cause the closure of Teagasc offices and there is an effective death sentence hanging over Teagasc advisory centres throughout the country. The Government would be well advised to invest more money in helping farmers to make the right decisions at this vital time for agriculture as we face into the new CAP reform and the Fischler proposals, which will soon be a reality. It is very wrong that funding in this vital area has been cut over the past couple of budgets.

Other speakers have spoken about consumer confidence in products. We are all aware of the bird flu currently in the Far East. A large volume of poultry meat from the Far East ends up being processed in Ireland. I am aware the EU has taken action to ensure that will cease while the infection continues in the Far East but this situation has highlighted the problems which exist here in the labelling of products. An animal or meat product of any sort can be produced anywhere in the world, be brought to Ireland, processed in some form and then sold as an Irish product. I have a particular interest in the potato sector. Potatoes can be produced in Cyprus, washed in this country and then sold as "Irish washed potatoes". It is true they have been washed in Ireland but it is a very misleading label. The issue of labelling and the display of the country of origin of produce is very important and is a matter on which the Department of Agriculture and Food and the new board need to focus attention.

From the arguments put forward by the Minister and the Government Senators I do not see any coherent reason this Bill should be supported. Other areas in agriculture and the food industry need to be examined and supported. The proposed merger of Bord Bia and An Bord Glas is not an issue which deserves the priority it has been given.