I welcome the appointment of the new Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan. This is very important for Ireland. The new Commissioner will be able to deliver for farmers in the future. I call on everybody to put on the green jersey and support the new Commissioner because it is important to do so.

I also welcome the farm safety initiative launched by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, on Monday in Athlone. Approximately 21 people have lost their lives on farms this year. That is 21 too many. The figure is up on last year. It is important to encourage farmers to become more aware of the dangers on farms. I especially welcome the grant for farmers who want to upgrade and put in place safety measures on their farms.

We welcome the appointment of an Irish Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. My colleague, Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív, and I went in person to meet the officials there while on a trip to Brussels last week.

I would like to call for a debate on the beef crisis. Throughout the summer months, the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, seemed to abdicate his responsibility, sadly, in order to focus on the important issue of the Golan Heights. The reality is that the differential between the price paid to producers and the price paid by consumers in supermarkets throughout this country is as high as 1,600%. There is no question that the Minister's decision to hold round-table talks among representatives of processors, producers and multiples was a welcome development. However, it is not good enough in itself for the Government to call for better communication between these interests.

When we visited the European Commission last week, we were reminded that Article 39 of the Lisbon treaty guarantees that farmers are entitled to a fair price in the market. They are not getting it. Through the Minister, we will be calling from this House on the Commissioner-designate - I am sure Mr. Hogan will get through next week's hearings and have his appointment confirmed - to champion this cause and take a leading role in ensuring Article 39 is put into practice to assist farmers throughout the entire European Union. Up to now, we have abdicated our responsibility to ensure farming families throughout this country get a fair price without official barriers being put up by multiples and processors throughout Britain and Northern Ireland to manipulate a scenario. The effect of this scenario is that farmers throughout the country, particularly in the Border counties represented by Senator Michael Comiskey and me, are subsidising the profits of multiples.