Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I am all for consensus, as Senator Ó Brolcháin knows well. Farmers also have a responsibility in this regard. I commend the farming community and the IFA on the role they have played in the CAP discussions and the reasonable approach they have taken.

Fine Gael has stated that the priority must be to secure a national envelope of farm payments and protect the single farm payment. This is critical in terms of protecting the family farm structure which is at the core of rural Irish society. Listening to Senator Carty's contribution, I wondered what de Valera's comely maidens would have made of modern rural society. Those times have changed but farming must still play a vibrant role in our society, and it can help us trade our way into economic recovery. Support for farmers will help us to achieve our aims in rural Ireland and in the agricultural sector.

I was interested to hear the discussion at the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with Commissioner Ciolos. I am not sure how to pronounce his name because I am not good at foreign languages, apart from Gaeilge, although some would argue that our approach to the Irish language is not correct because it is not a foreign language. The fact that we have not helped promote the Irish language at EU level is symptomatic of the problem we have with trade. This was mentioned on the Order of Business by Senators O'Toole and Ó Murchú. We have lost our sense of Irishness partly because agriculture has changed. We have not promoted the Irish perspective on agriculture or the idea of producing food in an environmentally friendly way. We have great produce but we should make more use of Bord Bia. Commissioner Ciolos focused on the areas of quantity, quality and diversity in food production, and I agree with his comments.

The agriculture sector is worth €1.8 billion and supports a quarter of a million jobs. Exports are critical to the economy and we need to ensure they are of the highest quality. It rests with our producers, farmers and all those involved to ensure the Irish brand, whether it is on our beef, our lamb or our dairy products, is indicative of the highest quality. Irish products should be gold-star quality. I hope that CAP reform will lead to the enhancement and protection of our agriculture sector for the benefit of consumers.

I conclude by quoting Austin Deasy, who said there can be no capitulation on behalf of the Irish farmer and the Irish consumer. It is too important. We are an island nation on the edge of Europe and it is important we have consensus on CAP reform, but it is also important that Ireland is not left behind by its fellow member states.