Nobody present will convince me that the WTO is good for Ireland. It cannot be, whether in terms of industry or agriculture. This is a small country with a small capacity to develop. Mr. Mandelson, as head of European trade in the Commission, is one of the most powerful Commissioners in the European Union. He is conscious of drawing water for his own mill which is his backyard in Great Britain, and that is what he is about.
I was in Central America last July. It is the poorest part of the world I ever visited and I have travelled a fair deal. In the past countries like Jamaica and Haiti traded sugar cane and bananas. Such trade has been taken from them. As I see it, there is no benefit for these countries in the trade taking place. I have no brief for any country except my own. These countries lost their sugar cane industry. They have now lost their banana trade because of a trade negotiation between the European Union and the WTO a few years ago. All these small countries, some of which are highly supportive of the United States while others are not, are striving to develop a tourism industry, a point I emphasise.
Deputy Callanan made a good point on the sugar beet industry. Ireland will finish up with no such industry. Whether we here speak as farmers, workers or trade unionists, all these agricultural industries gave significant employment to workers in rural areas and towns. These industries were the backbone of many rural areas. All that will be lost.
I see no benefit for the world in Brazil, Australia, Thailand and such countries fighting this case and getting this concession on sugar. If the sugar price drops to the level envisaged, with cheap sugar there will be no future for the crop in those countries either and we here will have no sugar industry left.
We also will end up with no port industry, which is also a significant employer. Then there is also the threat of avian flu. I am not the oldest man around this table but I remember that in 1950 this country imported 8,000 tonnes of butter. A coalition Government, consisting of three or four parties, was in power at the time and the late Deputy James Dillon was Minister for Agriculture. At my family's breakfast table we used to have Jim Dillon's butter. That is true. Looking back on history, he was a good Minister for Agriculture. The way we are moving, this could all reverse in that direction again because these countries do not have the appetite to produce and have a different outlook.
In this context, we have lost our textile industry. I am told our boot and shoe industry will be gone in five years and Europe's automobile industry will be gone in ten years. These are the projections arising from the statistics of the OECD and other influential European organisations. We are threatened by the developing countries. We hear much about China but nobody speaks of India from where the real development will come in the years ahead. This must be said here. We would want to be protective of our industrial development. We will finish up as the Third World of the modern world if we do not protect ourselves. As I see it, we are going along with every proposal. Low prices do not help the developing countries and I feel concerned about that.
I also want to address the other matter, the non-governmental agencies. Mr. Tony Joyce mentioned that in Hong Kong the Department of Foreign Affairs will be represented from the point of view of the Third World. This country has a conglomeration of non-governmental agencies. I cannot understand why they cannot facilitate each other as one and reduce their administrative costs. I would like to see the presentation of their accounts in a transparent way where we would see what is spent on administration. Recently I spoke to a person who was an ex-employee of one of those agencies. She told me that the amount of money being spent on administration and documentation is frightening. We are throwing money at that again. Members on all sides of the House are being badgered by those agencies for not spending enough money on the Third World. If we are spending money on it, we should curtail the amount of administration and of waste in that area. I cannot understand that such a small country can have so many agencies around the world. While I do not wish to name them, they are there.
I do not see anything good for Ireland. I am not picking at Mr. Tony Joyce or at the representatives of the trade unions who are present, but making the point that Ireland will not come out the winner, either industrially or agriculturally, from the WTO. I outlined what would happen in industry in the years ahead. I come from County Cork, which has fertiliser and steel industries. Ireland has the dearest fertiliser in the world following the IFI closure a few years ago. I am not the third socialist in the Parliament but I like fair play and I like to look after people. We lost our fertiliser industry and the same may happen to the steel industry this year. I do not know whether we are headed in the right direction. I regret I am not part of the committee's WTO delegation but, like a child on a school bus, I am only a concessionary pupil.