Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

Teagasc has issued a report on the impact on Irish agriculture of the new World Trade Organisation trade agreement. The report makes it clear that there will be a further decline in Irish agriculture and the number of families involved in it. The report states that by 2015, Ireland will have as few as 8,000 full-time dairy farmers with viable businesses. The number of such farmers is declining rapidly. Only 6% of cattle farmers will have viable businesses by 2015.