Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for allowing me to raise the important issue of the Irish sugar industry and I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Deputy Browne, who comes from a constituency where sugar beet is an integral part of the tillage industry.

The Minister of State knows how important the growing of sugar beet has been to Irish agriculture and how many thousands of people benefit annually from the production of the crop. I refer not just to those who grow the crop and the thousands of people who have worked in the factories over the years, but to all those employed in the associated industries such as transport and factory maintenance. Thousands of people depend on the sugar beet industry for their livelihood and are worried about the future of the industry arising from the proposed sugar reform measures being considered at European level.

In Mallow next Sunday, I expect thousands of people will protest to highlight their fears about the industry's future. The Minister of State is aware that next week there will be further discussions at European level on the current set of proposals. I need not tell the Minister of State that this set of sugar reform proposals would, if implemented, wipe out the Irish sugar industry.

We are aware that during the years there were many cases where negotiations and agreements made in Brussels produced difficulties, concerns and cuts in various industries and enterprises. However, never has there been a proposal which, as a single entity, would wipe out an entire industry. That is what the current proposed sugar regime cuts would do to the Irish sugar industry. It would literally wipe it out overnight. If what is being proposed by Brussels and what is on the table is implemented, we will not have a beet industry next year. That would be a tragedy for Irish agriculture. Beet production commenced here in the late 1920s or early 1930s with four factories and now there is only one factory. We want to protect that industry.

Greencore has become extremely efficient at sugar production. I am advised that the Irish sugar industry is one of the most efficient industries in Europe. It is in the top half of industries from the point of view of efficiency. A level of streamlining, cost-cutting and rationalisation has been carried out and no further such measures can be taken on board. It is a question of what progress we can make politically at European Council level to save this industry.

From the point of view of the World Trade Organisation talks and the arguments being made about liberalising trade, we must knock on the head the suggestion that in some way what is being proposed in Brussels concerning the sugar regime would be good for the least developed countries and that we have an obligation to take that on board. The least developed countries currently have access to the European sugar market by way of a special agreement with the European Union.

If what is being proposed is taken on board, Irish farmers will suffer and the sugar industry will close but the least developed countries will also suffer. The only groups which will benefit are the sugar barons of the world in Brazil and elsewhere. They will dominate the European sugar industry. They will be the beneficiaries plus a small number of European Union member states where a handful of wealthy sugar barons will rule the roost. That is what next week's talks are about, namely, to stem that tide and to try to reintroduce a balance.

I am very much aware of the difficulty of the task facing the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, the Minister of State and the Government. There is no point in our being unrealistic, but it is a battle we cannot afford to lose. I hope the Taoiseach will use his undoubted negotiating skills to impress directly on European Union Prime Ministers the need to set aside this set of proposals and to examine afresh the putting in place of a regime which will allow the industry to remain in place and our sugar industry to remain viable. We are not asking for the EU to subsidise an industry that is inefficient or to keep an industry alive that is loss-making. The Irish sugar industry is a profitable operation. It produces a crop that is required and used. There is also a major spin-off from the industry for rural Ireland and that has always been the case.

Of all the talks that have taken place at European farming level since Ireland became a member of the European Community in 1973, our biggest task will be faced next week. The talks may not be finalised next week but we will move some way towards a conclusion.

The stark reality of the current position is that unless we stem this tide and reverse the set of proposals on the table by Christmas of this year, the Irish sugar beet industry could be shut down. We cannot allow that to happen. Every political party on this island supports what the Government is trying to do. I hope we recognise the scale of the problem and that the Government's approach will stretch beyond the efforts of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, who will do her best, and reach prime ministerial level.

The days of being able to use a veto at European level are long gone but whatever political pressure we can impose and political demands we can make we must exercise them next week. We must ensure that sugar beet continues to be grown in Ireland, that the industry continues to flourish and that the thousands of people who depend on it for a livelihood will have a livelihood next year and beyond.

I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's reply and to receiving his support for what I have said.