Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a matter today that has been raised on numerous occasions over the last couple of months.I make no apologies for raising it again. I can assure the House that until some action is taken, I will continue to raise it. It is the plight of the Irish mushroom industry as a result of the Brexit vote. Again this weekend, I have had communication with people within the industry. This industry employs 3,500 people in rural areas where jobs are not ten a penny. Already to date, there are 130 jobs lost. Given the change in the exchange rate between sterling and euro, when suppliers receive cheques for contracts, which they had signed into prior to the vote and cannot revoke on until they come up for renewal between January and March next year, they now have a difference of up to €25,000 in what they receive for £100,000 sterling.

The industry is going under. We had members of the industry here in the Houses. They met the committee, the relevant Ministers and everybody who would lend them an ear. It was a sympathetic ear they received all round. Then, budget day came and went and there was not one iota done for this industry. The people in the industry are a resilient group and are very confident that if they can ride this storm, this time next year the mushroom export industry will be stronger than ever. Their main competition for contracts in the UK market was from eastern Europe. Now the eastern Europeans have run scared as a result of the situation and the position in which the Irish industry finds itself. Therefore, they are confident that if they can survive and ride this storm, when they renegotiate their contracts in the new year, there will be a strong a vibrant industry. Can they ride this storm? The consensus is they cannot and they will not. Nobody can live with the losses they have taken.

I plead with the Leader that we get each and every relevant Minister in here to not merely listen to statements, note them and walk out again. If this industry or these individuals were offering 130 jobs or the potential to duplicate that number, there would be a queue of Ministers trying to claim credit. In full and sustainable employment, when does the word "sustainable" come into play? It is as important to hold what we have as it is to be banging drums and looking for credit in creating new jobs. It is imperative and I propose that a Minister comes before the House and that the Minister answers. I am aware that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is due to attend the House next week. Let him come in to the House with answers.

This industry is going under and it will not be retrievable. It is not a situation whereby if they lose a job today, when the markets and contracts change in January, they will revitalise that job. Once it is gone, it is gone. The €7 million that is already gone has been taken up by Dutch suppliers. We are posturing with contingency plans for Brexit and what may happen. This is one of the first major outcomes of Brexit and we are found standing offside. If our answer to everything else that might come down the line is the same, this economy is going to be ruined by Brexit. Let us show what we can do, will do and what we will potentially do in the future.