I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. I welcome the farmers from the farming bodies around the country. There are a few things we need to put into perspective. Farmers contribute €6 million to Bord Bia. No one is knocking every part of Bord Bia. No one is doing that. There is a job for everyone to do. We are great at telling the story, and it is great to hear about the volume of exports each year. I have carried out an analysis in respect of sheep. We do not hear that part of it. In 2022, we exported €475 million worth. In 2023, the figure was down by €35 million. In 2024, it dropped to €400 million. It is now down to €360 million. Not only are there fewer sheep, there is less money coming into the country. We do not hear that story. Let us be honest. Milk prices were good last year. I compared cattle prices in 2023 with those on offer now. There was a difference of €2.50 or €3. Is that because we have experts, heroes or the greatest people running things? It is not. The fact is that Red Tractor in England was able to get 20 cent more for its beef than we got for ours. In Germany, and throughout Europe, the average price was €7.70. I am not saying that someone is doing something wrong. This is about supply and demand and the number of cattle. We lost 250 suckler cows because farmers were sick of pulling calves, and the weanlings were not getting a good price. That is the bottom line. Farmers vote with their feet. Farmers put €6 million towards Bord Bia, and the Government gives money as well. There is legality and morality. Ultimately, if you lose the dressing room, you have a problem. I have not spoken to any farmer in the past two weeks who told me that they have confidence in the situation that has developed. If farmers have lost confidence, that is a problem. We rely on the farmers of this country to produce food of the highest quality. They even have to make sure a cat is vaccinated when there is a Bord Bia audit. They have to make sure that the dog is looked after. They have to make sure that the spraying machines and power take-off shafts are right. They do that to make sure that the Irish food that is being exported is a quality product and has the emblem on it. A wider debate has to take place on food labelling in this country and throughout Europe. We are looking at what is coming in and what is going out. This is not just about beef; it is also about pork and chicken. We have to do a lot of research on this. As I said, there are ethical, legal and moral factors involved. We can talk about this until the cows come home, but if people lose hope in something, that is a problem. Let us be honest about it. If I go to a trade fair in Europe as the captain of the ship charged with promoting something, there may be a story behind me, rightly or wrongly, that 99% of what I have came through Europe and the other 1% came from one of the Mercosur countries. The problem in that regard is that there are questions as to traceability, medicines and hormones. What is happening has been proved to us by the Irish Farmers Journal. Fear and doubt enters people's minds. Tracking through companies and what is happening is like trying to go out into the world to discover where someone lives. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. When the farmers of the country who produce the finest food lose faith in somebody, we, as politicians, have to listen.

Sentiment score: 0.09