Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for introducing the Bill. We will not oppose it, but we have raised our concerns. I appreciate the Minister's statement that some of these cannot be addressed through the Bill, but I hope he will revert to the House with a number of solutions to these pressing issues. He is the Minister with responsibility for jobs. The agriculture sector, in particular, is concerned about indigenous jobs on farms. There is no point in having jobs in the retail sector only to lose them in agriculture. It is important that the Minister sit down with the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, to discuss this matter.

All of the farming interests were present at the meeting I attended on Friday evening. They voiced their concerns about a cartel operating in the meat processing industry. If a number of individuals rule that industry, the sense is that they are putting controls in place that are squeezing people out of the market. The farming interests called for this issue to be re-examined. The Minister might ask for evidence in order that he might act on it, but we were asked to raise this strong sense with the Government and it should be considered. The farming interests' other major concern was related to the impact of some international agreements, particularly with Brazil and the mooted agreement between the European Union and the United States, on jobs on Irish farms.

I appreciate that the Bill is limited in what it can do, but perhaps the Minister might revert to us in the autumn on the issues we have raised and outline how the Government could support indigenous horticultural, meat or fish producers. Such support is equally important, as the people concerned spend in their local areas and their incomes make a difference to their communities.