Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Other issues are the regulations relating to cottage industry, farmers' markets and farmer outlets. Does the Minister of State know that there are farmers doing quite well selling vegetables to local people at the farm gate but they cannot include in the sale anything which has not been grown on the farm? One can buy a variety of vegetables but one might also want to buy ginger which would not have been grown on the farm and, because of ridiculous legislation, farmers are not allowed to sell that.

Somebody who wants to set up a sandwich business in Ireland to cater for four schools and a small factory, which would be a small operation, must fulfil the same regulations that would apply to the establishment of an Irish version of Freshways to cater for the whole country. There is a lack of balance in the regulations. We are overly enthusiastic about some of these. I have tried to be practical. I could say much more on these issues. The Department is doing a reasonable job in moving this forward, but there are many more practical, simple things it could do.