Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

I welcome that definition.

I refer to the issue of branding. While exports have increased, much of the prime beef is used for burgers in McDonalds restaurants throughout Europe. Surely there is a great deal of scope to enhance the value of these products. Where does the Minister stand on the branding issue and increasing the value of grass-fed beef? I refer to the pathways for growth project mentioned by Bord Bia. I agree with the call for including food production under the Leader programme. The failure to include it has held many good projects back and if that could be alleviated, it would be positive.

When Commissioner Ciolos was in the House recently, he referred to opening up the sugar beet market. When does the Minister intend to do that to enable the production of sugar beet again?

Where does he stand on the GM foods issue? Are applications for trials on hand? If so, is he in favour of approving them?

What is the future of Teagasc from a funding perspective? Will the Department continue to fund the agency?

Another issue having an impact on small farmers is the necessity for a licence to pull a trailer with a car. Many older farmers did not have a licence to do that and because the regulations were amended recently, this is causing problems in rural Ireland. Those who do not have the correct licences are being asked to re-sit tests and so on. Will he examine this issue in conjunction with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government?

I get the sense that the Minister is pushing for the agriculture budget to be retained on an EU-wide basis. I picked up from Commissioner Ciolos that he will have a battle on his hands at governmental level to maintain his budget. He also mentioned the paperwork people who apply for funding sift through but he indicated that, much of the time, the Commission is not on its own seeking information as members states add a list of questions regarding information they are seeking. Is the Government a culprit in this regard or is this practice confined to other member states? If the information has to be sought in one member state, I expect it has be sought in every other. Has the Minister added to the paperwork?