John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I hope the Minister of State can take on board the gist of these amendments. It may be necessary to redraft the wording of the amendments proposed by Senators O'Reilly, Norris and O'Toole. Perhaps a Government amendment can be tabled on Report Stage. Senator O'Reilly is quite correct to say there should be no need to have a vote on this issue. Our sentiments on this section have been expressed by Senators on the Government side of the House.

Senator Norris said we have been lobbied in this regard. Every time Members of the Oireachtas meet their constituents, we are lobbied in some way. I suggest that the lobbying done in this instance by a group of people in south Kilkenny who want to bring a viable proposal to fruition was correct. Senator O'Toole hit the nail on the head when he said they were looking for a level playing field in which they could compete with those involved in ethanol and bio-fuel production in Brazil. I take my hat off to the Brazilian authorities for their economic efforts. The manner in which they have embraced bio-fuel production has had great knock-on effects for that country's economy, although its ecological effects are questionable.

It would be remiss of us not to do as much as we can in this legislation to promote the production of bio-fuel in this jurisdiction. There is a huge irony in the notion that we import 70% of the bio-fuel that is used in this country. At a time when we are talking about the protection of the environment and climate change, we are transporting huge volumes of bio-fuel over long distances to this country to be used in our economy. I am not expressing any anti-Brazilian feeling when I support these amendments and ask the Minister of State to consider them. As I have said, domestic producers deserve a level playing field.

I do not think anybody believes the development of a viable bio-fuel sector in this country will be a panacea for the agriculture industry. The possibility of the development of such an industry provides the potential for a floor in the market of cereal producers whose incomes have suffered substantially over recent years. Just as live cattle exports provide a floor in the beef market, the bio-fuel sector could provide a similar service for grain producers. It is particularly important in the aftermath of the sale a couple of weeks ago of Greencore's malting barley section to a British interest. This development went virtually unheralded in the media. Although there are a couple of small purchasers and merchants around the country, there are no large-scale malting barley purchasers left in Ireland as a consequence of Greencore's decision. The facility in question is now owned by overseas parties who might not necessarily have the interests of Irish agriculture at heart. It is important for the Oireachtas to do what it can in this legislation to put in place some kind of mechanism whereby that facility can be replaced.

I echo the sentiments of Senator Norris and others who spoke about the need to introduce tariff control. I understand that more than eight EU countries have imposed the level of tariff we are seeking in these amendments. Such a tariff has been introduced in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and possibly other EU member states. It would be appropriate for us to introduce a similar level in this jurisdiction. This Bill gives us an opportunity to do so.

Senator O'Toole dealt in detail with some of the arguments that have been made against the development of a bio-fuel sector in this country. I agree with the sentiments he correctly expressed. There is no need for me to repeat them.

I feel strongly on this issue because the development of a bio-fuel plant has been proposed in south Kilkenny. There is a compelling economic argument for such a facility to be developed in my region. With the exception of Donegal, the south east was the region of Ireland with the highest level of unemployment throughout the Celtic tiger years. County Wexford, County Kilkenny and parts of County Carlow have traditionally had the highest unemployment levels in the country, when County Donegal is not included.