Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted that the Commissioner is here today. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I formally congratulate him on his appointment as EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. I know he will carry out the role with great distinction. We will watch very closely how our Commissioner performs. I know he is a European Commissioner but I have used the term "our Commissioner" because he was appointed by Ireland. I wish him well in his new role.

I have only five minutes which restricts what I can say and, therefore, I shall focus on a couple of areas. The Commissioner has highlighted, in the short time he has been in the role, the area of below-cost selling in agricultural and horticultural sectors. The issue crosses all borders and affects all member states. The issue of below-cost selling affects growers in Poland as much as it affects growers in Ireland. I am interested in hearing, from a European Commission perspective, what the Commissioner believes the Commission can do, and Europe can do, to insure that we have a sustainable and viable horticultural and agricultural sectors.

The Commissioner mentioned the potential for growth in the agrifood sector. That potential has been proven in recent years, with Ireland at the cutting edge in terms of research and bringing new products to market. We all know about our successes in the dairy sector in respect of powdered milk and so on. Will Mr. Hogan outline the efforts that are being made from a Commission perspective to ensure the EU is to the forefront in accessing new markets, including those in China and South America?

When delegates from the Irish Farmers Association attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine last April to discuss below-cost selling and its impact on producers throughout the country, what was very clear was that the strength of the multiple retailers, many of which operate across all European borders, is disproportionate in this market. The power they wield in terms of purchasing capacity is having a particularly detrimental effect on family-run farms and businesses in Ireland. I was reminded during those discussions that the Lisbon treaty, which was passed by the Irish people in a referendum, offers a commitment that farmers in the EU are entitled to make a fair and sustainable living from the land. Ireland must step up its focus in this regard, perhaps by looking to what Britain and other member states are doing. There should be a pan-European approach to ensuring our agriculture and horticulture sectors are sustainable and that young farmers and growers see a future for themselves and their families. That is not currently the case, the reason being the scourge of below-cost selling.

I very much welcome the Commissioner's efforts to highlight this issue in the seven or eight months he has been in office and I hope he will continue to do so. Will he outline how he sees the matter progressing in the coming months from a Commission perspective? The power exercised by the multiples is an issue that is of particular concern to me as a representative of north Dublin, but it also is of concern to farmers all over the country and all across Europe. I do not want to see a wholesale industrialisation of farming in this country. Some of the multiples are now involved in farming in Britain, which would be an unwelcome development here. I am interested to hear the Commissioner's view on this.

I noted Mr. Hogan's comments on the social aspects of the Commission's works and the potential for a so-called Grexit and Brexit. We all hope it will not come to that. I would be glad to hear Mr. Hogan's views on the upcoming referendum in Britain in the context of how important the EU market is for British farmers. I thank the Commissioner for giving of his time and wish him well in his work in the coming years. It gives hope to a lowly Senator to see somebody who started out in this House achieving such high office. One never knows what heights one might reach.