Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I always find listening to Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú to be an inspiration because he speaks with such strength and such belief, as he did today. The question of buying Irish is very important. It is in our own hands and is something we can do and he worded this point very well. However, I must sound a note of caution about one point he made, namely, that all Irish products are good. One must buy critically, as one is not doing a favour to a producer of an Irish product if one buys something solely because it is Irish. Were one to buy it because it is Irish and it is a poor product, one is not doing that company a favour. Similarly, if one buys a food product that is not good, no favour is being done. Irish people must learn to be critical. In such cases, I suggest, that as a consumer, one should go back to whoever provided the service in question, whether it be a local shop or restaurant or the producer of a product. It is one's obligation to help them by going back to tell them it was not good enough and to ask them to do their best to improve because one wishes to support them.

I believe this is an opportunity for this House to do something. Would it be possible to have an all-party motion that could be agreed on by everyone, stating Members will set an example and will exhort everyone they come across this Christmas to do their best to buy not just Irish but to buy local as well? I believe that in the case of foodstuffs, buying local is a huge benefit. The other day, I mentioned a recent great campaign in Drogheda, in which 30 food producers from counties Louth and Meath got together in a hotel and met approximately 50 customers, by which I do not mean just consumers but eateries and people with restaurants or delicatessens. The latter could not get over meeting people who were in their own locality for the first time. There is a sense that if one buys something local, one can see the benefit that derives therefrom. I remember the onset of the BSE scare some years ago and what impressed me was that people in France wanted to buy French beef and people in Germany wanted to buy German beef. In other words, they were anxious to buy something not from far away but from their own territory and their own country. This is something from which one can learn. Moreover, one can learn this lesson at a local level. Perhaps Members can manage to encourage our citizens to support Irish this year and even more so, to support local. However, they should be critical if they do not get good service. If they do not get the product they want, they should make sure to go back and help retailers or producers to improve it.