Mary Henry (Independent)

We always like to hear what Senator Bannon has to say on agriculture, so I would like to share my time with him.

I welcome the Minister to the House and I congratulate her on the work she has been doing in the Department. I hope she looks at the remarks on this side of the House as further encouragement.

We must instil in our children the importance of agriculture and horticulture in Ireland. They must learn about where their food comes from. We have been bad about this for some time and children have been eating the most appalling rubbish with no knowledge of what it contains and from where it came. Jamie Oliver made a great effort to improve school dinners in England and I give him credit for that. We should instil in our children a better understanding of the food they eat and why it should be nutritious.