Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I attended the National Ploughing Championships last week, which were a fantastic success. I congratulate the National Ploughing Association on the fantastic annual event it holds, in particular its well-known managing director Anna May McHugh. With the season that is in it as we approach a presidential election, one could nearly say Anna May is the best president we never had. The success last week was a testament to that great organisation. When you attend that event in the role I have as spokesperson for agriculture, you can gauge how things are on the ground by the mood of the farmers and others who attend. Things were very good, positive and upbeat last week, which indicates things are good out there, but with one exception. The rising tide does not lift all boats. There is a serious crisis in our tillage sector. It is ironic that ploughing is the foundation of the seedbed for the crop. It was very evident last week that our tillage sector is in crisis and needs immediate aid. I would like a debate with the Minister for agriculture but it would need to be before the budget so I doubt very much that will happen. Perhaps we could relate it to him. We need support for the tillage sector. It is under pressure with input costs and fertiliser prices. World grain prices are almost at an all-time low. It is the sector that is probably most dependent on the weather. Even if we get the prices right, there can be a bad spring when they put in their crops and they are goosed, or a bad harvest. It is a vulnerable sector and needs so much help. I would also like to see the inclusion of gene editing in that debate. The time has come. I am not talking about gene modification; I am talking about gene editing. We need to strengthen those crops to handle the new climate and the wet conditions climate change has brought.It is a debate we need to have on gene editing. I want to make very clear that I am not talking about gene modification but gene editing.