Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I am honoured to speak on this matter during Fairtrade Fortnight and I commend the Minister of State on the graciousness and compassion he showed the delegation at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight. The Fairtrade movement began in Ireland in 1992 to promote justice in trade between Irish consumers and workers and producers in developing countries. I like the theme of Fairtrade Fortnight: "Change today, choose Fairtrade". This matter is a question of choice and by making simple choices Irish consumers can make a long and lasting difference to the lives of producers in the developing world.

I agree with most of Senator Quinn's sentiments and his preference for trade before aid. The people of the developing world do not need our platitudes, they need us to support them and allow them be competitive by buying their products. We should help them to help themselves. Like other Senators, I wholeheartedly welcome the announcement that the restaurants in the Houses of the Oireachtas are to switch to Fairtrade tea and coffee because this commitment signals the all-party support that exists for the movement.

Dublin has joined Edinburgh and Rome as a Fairtrade city and this is not due solely to city councillors; the dedication and commitment of small Fairtrade committees around the country have helped towns and cities in achieving this designation. They debate Fairtrade late into the night and this has helped bring Fairtrade to fruition in Ireland. I was a member of such a committee and I commend the people involved. My local authority, Athlone Town Council, embraced Fairtrade and, on the passing of a motion placed before the council, Athlone became a Fairtrade town.

Fairtrade creates the potential for very good community projects with members of Fairtrade committees visiting local schools, shops and businesses. Athlone Institute of Technology, one of the biggest employers in the region, became the flagship for the initiative in my area. Fairtrade towns must have a flagship. This was a great way of promoting Fairtrade in Athlone and I urge other towns to get involved in such a positive community project.

Other speakers have referred to retail outlets and Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Superquinn, Super Valu and others have dramatically increased the number of Fairtrade products available in their stores. Senator Butler mentioned that Lidl now supplies organic Fairtrade bananas and this has quadrupled the sale of Fairtrade products in Lidl stores. Consumers now realise there is choice because there are so many products and the quality is so much better than five years ago. As other speakers said, this is evident in the sales of Fairtrade products in Ireland.

Working with Fairtrade can provide farmers in the developing world with the opportunity to diversify by making resources available to invest in new products, such as citrus fruits, bananas and cotton. One of my Fine Gael colleagues is wearing a Fairtrade shirt today, which I commend. It is about individuals making choices.

Rice and wine are products that are now being traded fairly. This is taking away the dependency, as Senator Hannigan said, from coffee and increasing the incomes of Fairtrade producers in the developing world.

In some instances Fairtrade sales have provided for co-operatives to buy land and build factories. This will add further to their share of profits from the produce. Other coffee producers are branching into the growing of macadamia nuts, which I commend, and setting up tourism projects. Tea farmers in Sri Lanka are starting to grow spices. This has all come about because small producers have been given the support and funding to diversify by working with Fairtrade. It is about empowering people from the developing world to give them independence and freedom. I commend all the Fairtrade towns and cities in Ireland for taking up this mantle.