The Deputy may have greater influence with some of the people to whom I refer. It offers strength and price control to producers to come together. The advent of the new supermarkets which are coming into the country has created the urgency for that kind of initiative.
We are discussing operational programmes submitted by seven of the producer organisations, which were officially recognised earlier this year. We are looking to further expand them and to try to do something with them. Six groups were recognised in 1998 and submitted operational programmes which will be implemented in 1999. They are eligible for community assistance in respect of those programmes in 2000.
We are encouraging more people to get involved. I know there are carrot growers and other producers in the Deputy's constituency and if they joined together to form a producer group, they would save on transport, supply and so on. It would give them real strength in terms of the control of prices and they could not be bullied or divided.