Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Senator for raising this issue. We are at one on the need to focus on import substitution in the short and long term to deal with crises such as the current one, but also from the perspective of job security and security for various parts of the market. We should look at this for different reasons. It is an area we probably need to focus more on, which I have been saying for a number of years. From this point of view, certainly when it comes to flour and milling, if there is an opportunity there we should develop it.

On the sanctions and what is happening with Russia, the ultimate and most ideal solution to the crisis is for Russia to withdraw its forces and uphold international humanitarian and human rights law. That is something we all agree with in this House. The use of such military aggression has no place in the modern world and is wholly unacceptable in the 21st century. Unfortunately, the longer this crisis continues the greater the adverse economic impacts will be, particularly on energy costs, which will carry through to consumers and businesses. The Senator referenced the price of a loaf of bread. That will impact on everybody but, specifically, it will hurt low-income families harder.

There is no doubt that low-margin industries, especially food producers and food processors, will be put under severe pressure in the coming weeks and possibly months. The Government may have to consider options that are targeted to provide relief in critical sectors. That work is ongoing at present. All these issues are being considered and co-ordinated at the highest levels of the Government and interdepartmentally. I re-emphasise, and I agreed with the Senator on this, that there is now an opportunity to have another look at the domestic capacity for flour production and flour milling. We will ask our enterprise agencies to examine this and to continue to assess business proposals for the setting up of commercial flour mills in Ireland, similar to those of the Kavanaghs and others.