Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I will be brief. I support what was said about the need for a debate on the future of the beef industry and the food industry as a whole. Will the Leader arrange a debate on the future of the pig industry as a matter of urgency? Like many of my colleagues, I attended an IFA briefing session this morning at which we were given some stark statistics relating to the future of an industry that employs 7,000 people. The pig industry is almost in meltdown due to problems with feedstuffs, country of origin labelling and environmental issues, all of which need to be addressed by the Government. It is important that the Leader should arrange at an early stage a debate on the future of this major sector of the agriculture industry, which employs 7,000 people and exports produce worth hundreds of millions of euro every year.