Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

The Newcastle report, which has been published, will be analysed rigorously and peer reviewed.

One aspect of organic production that must be accounted for, although it might seem small, is that the honey bee population is decreasing. An analogy would be that of a canary in a cage. We depend on pollination and anybody who has tried to pollinate with a small bit of a brush instead of using bees will know just how difficult it is and how bad one's yield will be as a consequence.

The effect of chemicals is regarded as one of the main reasons for the decrease in the bee population. We must keep ourselves apprised of all the interlinking arrangements. If pollination is affected, all agriculture will be affected. It is in our interest that organic production constitute a healthy proportion of agricultural production as a whole. It results in increased biodiversity and will benefit all agriculture because there will be a larger insect population and a higher level of pollination. It is in everyone's interest to encourage the organic sector.