Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and am pleased to have this opportunity, as we close the political year, to make a plea to the Minister for Agriculture and Food and the Government to ensure that the sugar beet industry in this country survives. We know what has happened in Brussels recently in that regard. The EU proposals on the sugar industry, agreed by our Government, have resulted in a situation where there is a serious chance that the Irish sugar industry will be wiped out and sugar beet will not be grown here again. We must ensure that does not happen. The sugar beet industry is important to almost 4,000 growers and to hundreds of workers in the factory in Mallow. It is also of great importance to the broader tillage industry, to many road hauliers and others working in associated areas. In fact, it is estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 people in rural Ireland are dependent on the sugar beet industry.

I recognise that the international climate has changed and that the sugar deal has been negotiated and finalised. The finer details, from a legal perspective, will be made clear in the coming weeks. The Minister must now sit down with all of the interested parties to map out a future for the industry and any changes that are required. Unfortunately, there is rampant confusion around the issue at present. A minority of farmers believes it might be possible to continue growing sugar beet but the majority does not see a future. Greencore believes that it will receive the bulk of the compensation package agreed in Brussels, while many farmers believe they will receive most of that money. We must ascertain the facts and the legalities to find out what money is due to whom and when it will be paid over so that we can map the way forward. Much discussion and speculation has taken place on the sugar beet industry becoming the driving force for alternative fuels. A farmer informed me during the week that he grew sugar beet but was not a sugar producer. The crop is suitable for use in alternative fuel production, as well as being beneficial in terms of meeting the carbon emission targets of the Kyoto Agreement.

The first issue is compensation. The Minister for Agriculture and Food must take charge of the debate and ensure that the bulk of the compensation from Brussels will be paid over to producers, to those who have invested in the industry such as hauliers and to those who work in the industry. If the industry is to survive we will need early decisions.

We must move mountains to ensure that sugar beet will be grown in 2006. As long as the debate drifts on this becomes less likely, so the Minister for Agriculture and Food must bring the parties together at the earliest stage. Greencore would like to see sugar production continue and, if a financial package could be put together to make it viable, sugar producing farmers would like to keep growing the crop. In addition, workers in the industry want to keep their jobs so we should get all the interested parties together and move forward.

If it is not possible we should consider alternative uses for the crop. Greencore has a factory in Mallow and still has one in Carlow and, with some adjustment, there is every possibility that these factories could produce biofuels, although I am not sure of the technology involved. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that talks begin quickly to end the confusion and get Greencore, beet growers and their representatives and workers together because the industry as it stands and, possibly, as a future alternative fuel source, is far too important to rural Ireland to allow it to die. On her return from Hong Kong and following a short rest, to which everybody is entitled, the Minister must get a grip on this issue before the final legal package from Brussels, which is due shortly, is announced.

Every person I meet from the industry seems to have a different interpretation of what is on offer from Brussels and on what will happen next. They cannot all be right. It needs clarification because it is vital for the tillage industry and for rural Ireland. We must keep the plant in Mallow open and support the industry to keep sugar beet growing in the ground. Finland, working within the rules of the European Union, has put together a package to keep its sugar industry alive. I am advised by some growers that for as little as €10 million per annum we could keep sugar production viable. We can only address the issue when everybody sits around the table and faces reality to ensure the tillage industry and, more important, the sugar beet industry, remain viable.