Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I thank Senator Fitzgerald for responding to my request for a debate on Northern Ireland. Yesterday, I spoke on Northern Ireland on the Order of Business. I hope we do not regard it as a competitor for jobs because they are losing jobs in Derry as much as we are in Galway. We must support and regard Ireland as a united island and not regard Northern Ireland as a competitor.

The International Food Policy Research Institute has stated global agricultural production will be reduced by 16% in the next 12 years, which will make it harder for poorer people around the world to get enough food to eat. At the same time, Europe is encouraging land to be set aside and paying farmers not to grow food. In the future, people will look back at how we behaved in Europe at a time when there were food shortages and people starved. It might perhaps be due to global warming which we are taking steps against. However, we in Europe are taking steps to discourage the growing of food. Future generations will ask whether we were interested in the ability to feed the world's population if we in Europe refuse to sacrifice whatever benefits we get by discouraging the production of food to encourage set aside and to pay farmers not to grow crops.