Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I add my voice to those of Senators who have spoken about the late Mr. Brian Farrell whom I got to know in UCD. However, I do not have stories about him to compare with those of other Senators, but I regarded him very highly.

I was away yesterday and did not realise the former Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Joe Walsh, had died. Senator Terry Leyden has mentioned that Mr. Walsh was a Member of this House in 1980 and 1981. I was not aware of that, but it gives us reason to speak about him in the future. I send my sympathy to his family. He was actively involved in raising Irish food standards through Bord Bia and I worked with him at the time of establishment of that body. I mention this because the solution to the beef problem lies in food standards. If higher prices are to be achieved for Irish beef, they will be achieved by customers believing it is worth paying more. The Irish public is not paying more, but people in Britain are paying more for English beef, while French people are paying more for French beef. We must do something, but stopping supplies is the wrong approach. Strikes can be frustrating and people may react to them by not serving and delivering Irish beef, but this will not help the beef business. I hope that at the beef forum tomorrow a solution will be found because Irish beef is top quality. As stopping supplies will damage the future of the industry, we should ensure a system to solve the problem is agreed to at the forum tomorrow.