John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

Other speakers have mentioned the rigorous testing and inspection procedure to which farmers are subject. It is appalling that the plant in question in Carlow was not inspected this year. It is strange that pig producers are required to keep feed samples for six months, yet the testing of these samples by the relevant Government authorities must have been inadequate. Nonetheless, it is their responsibility to ensure feed inputs meet certain standards. Why are pig producers keeping such samples if they are not being tested by the relevant authorities? It must not have happened in this case, given the problems that have emerged.

The pig sector is the Cinderella of Irish agriculture. The approximately 400 to 500 producers remaining are on their knees. I join colleagues who have urged that some compensation package be put in place for them, as well as for pig processors. A number of such businesses are in serious difficulty, including three in my area in south Kilkenny, in which a number of employees have been placed on protective notice. Some 300 have been temporarily laid off.