Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Many of us are speaking on this agriculture motion as many of us represent rural constituencies. Many more sought to speak on it, as agriculture is the backbone of our economy and will continue to be into the future, but there are constraints on time. We need to focus on the real problems and how we might tackle them.

Apart from being confusing, the motion just seems to take a few random digs at the Government, the Minister and the way business is being done. That is not an issue. For example, the Minister played a blinder in the Common Agricultural Policy negotiations in securing €8.5 billion under Pillar 1 and €2.2 billion under the rural development programme, to which the Government is adding €1.9 billion. That success can be contrasted with where we started where farmers could have lost considerably more. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, changed the rules of engagement and how we would negotiate CAP. There is an equalisation or redistribution, but the initial scenario being pitched to farmers was going to be considerably more detrimental.

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