Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The national Famine commemoration will be held in Newry this Saturday, 26 September. It is the first time the commemoration will be held in the North and I hope many Senators will attend this important event, if they have the time to do so. It commemorates a bleak time in our history when the potato crop failed. I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, that €1 million will be spent on marketing the potato, which is an important part of our culture and heritage and a nutritious food, with all the vitamins one would want. I remember having champ on a Friday and I was able to go around like a Duracell bunny all day.