Kieran Phelan (Fianna Fail)

——it was packed. It was hard to get parking that morning. I look on it as Cowen country. The Minister outlined the plan for the future of the agrifood sector. I was delighted the plan was published last week and I welcome its proposals. The reason a new plan is necessary is the changing circumstances now being faced in Ireland with regard to agriculture and food production. There is a fully decoupled payment scheme, trade is more open and less restricted and there are major changes in our lifestyles and those of our farmers and growers. We therefore must use the benefits of technology, research and development to continue to improve all aspects of our food production, whether it is for the home or the export markets.

There is great emphasis in the report on the need for the agrifood sector to remain competitive in the cost of production and the cost to consumers. Ireland has an export-driven food sector and if we price ourselves out of the range of consumers across Europe and elsewhere, we will be in serious trouble. Competitiveness is a major part of the plan because it will ultimately decide the future of the food sector in Ireland. The plan proposes 93 actions, one of which was announced last week with regard to milk quotas. By 2007, a milk quota system will be in place which will allow for the transfer of quotas. This is an important measure for commercial dairy farmers.

The Fianna Fáil motion before the House is not a report or a statement of what it would like to happen. The motion correctly refers to the fact that the plan contains 166 specific actions to be implemented in the near future.

The Fine Gael amendment is innocent stuff. It states that it notes the lack of funding commitments in the plan which will render the plan ineffective and unworkable. At every opportunity, we hear Members of the Opposition tell us that the Government should have more long-term plans before granting funding. The Minister and her team now have a great long-term plan but we are now being told that the plan is doomed because funding details are not provided.