Peter Callanan (Fianna Fail)

Irish Sugar has been paying debts incurred in other businesses, many unsuccessful, and has asked the sugar beet growers to pick up the bill from the profits made in sugar processing. It happened again this year, when it dropped €47 million. It is unjust and immoral that Greencore could get its hands on €145 million, less the 10% referred to by the Minister. Farmers are entitled to 50% of the €145 million, while Greencore and other parties with legitimate claims should receive the remainder. The Minister could not have returned from Brussels with anything other than a bag of money. Beet growing can continue for a further two years and I appeal to beet farmers and the last remaining sugar factory to give the industry at least another two years. The sector can be profitable to both sides and the Minister should use a small stick and carrot to persuade them to come together.

Serious matters arise regarding the world trade talks. My views on globalisation are well known at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food. While the process has the potential to be wonderful and beneficial to the peoples of the world, on the basis of the structure adopted for the forthcoming talks in Hong Kong, globalisation will not benefit the population of the world. Multinational companies — nowadays the term "transcontinental" would be more appropriate as these firms span all continents — will not take the action needed to assist the poor of the world. Unless political leadership is given at the highest level of the western world, the only region able to provide substantial aid and assistance, globalisation will only benefit the few and practices such as slave labour, to which Senator Coonan referred, will continue. If globalisation and free trade result in the decimation of the multitudes for the benefit of the few, no one wants them. For this reason, no agreement is better than a bad agreement, and not only from the point of view of Irish agriculture.

The purpose of the World Trade Organisation should be to raise all boats. It was the late Seán Lemass who coined the phrase that a rising tide lifts all boats. That should be the outcome of the Hong Kong talks but under the current structure, no such outcome will be achieved.