Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Yesterday I spoke about the positive attitude we had sought to take. I wish to make a point on the significant export benefits derived from the food business, a matter on which Senator Callely has remarked today. We must encourage this. I have a problem in that every time we refer to the Minister with responsibility for agriculture, he or she also has responsibility for food. I have argued that we should have different Ministers with responsibility for food and agriculture since there is a difference between the two. Agriculture has driven the business rather than food production.

Let us consider an example. I was a member of the expert food group which helped to establish Bord Bia in 1994. I produced a minority report which made the point that in the future jobs would stem from the food business. If a food company decides that its ideal product should be imported from somewhere else, that is the way the food business should be developed. There have been some good examples. Let us consider McDonalds as one. When it opened here first, there was an outcry, especially from potato producers, because it was importing chips from Holland. They argued that this was outrageous, that McDonalds should establish in the country and not expect to buy Irish potatoes. However, McDonalds argued that Irish potatoes did not suit it and that it was the customer. Irish potato growers had to change their product and as a result, McDonalds stopped buying in from Holland. We must remember we are driven by customers. I fear that when there is a Minister for and a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, they will always act in the interests of agriculture first.

Let me provide one instance. Last year there was a pigmeat problem in Ireland. When all Irish pigmeat products had been taken off the shelves, I saw a product which had been produced in Munster. When I informed the manager of this, he said no, that the pigmeat had been imported. It was a great product, but there was an outcry; people wanted to know why we were importing pigmeat from elsewhere. The reason is the market is consumer and customer-driven. We must ensure we continue to do this.

We led the way with the plastic bag tax which has done wonders. The Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which will be introduced in the coming weeks will enable a tax of up to a 70 cent to be levied on plastic bags. This is an error. We have succeeded, but let us not kill the golden goose. We are moving in the right direction and have done well. Let us ensure, therefore, we will not damage it.