Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to congratulate all of the students who were here yesterday and on their behalf, extend my thanks to the Cathaoirleach, Senator Susan O'Keeffe and all of the staff and Members of the House for the way they were treated. I have been in touch with a few of them and received messages from them last night and this morning. They had a very enjoyable day which was also very educational.

Senator Colm Burke has already referred to the fodder crisis, which we also discussed in the House last week. I wish to compliment the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for his work on this to date. He has been working very closely with Teagasc over the last number of months and has now made €1 million available to alleviate the problem. There is also an animal welfare fund which people may not be aware of and if there is a serious problem in terms of farmers being unable to feed their animals, they could apply for assistance under that fund. Farmers should contact their local departmental offices for more information.

I spoke to a representative from Connaught Gold this morning and welcome the fact that the Minister will be speaking to the chief executives of all of the dairy co-operatives later today. Connaught Gold has a special ration in its stores at a greatly reduced price, which will also help to alleviate the problem. Hopefully, the grass will start to grow in the next few weeks and this problem will disappear.