Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Although we have got good, it still is said that the national herd should be slaughtered, that we should get rid of farmers and those farmers should not live. To be blunt, I would call those who are coming out with this stuff idiots. What went on in the Citizen's Assembly was misguided information. If the head of the Citizen's Assembly had any respect for the people of Ireland, the assembly would have brought in people like the present witnesses who could say there has been a reduction of 14%, instead of having people vote to get rid of everything. If we increase the number of people in the country we will do harm. Should we get rid of them? Should we do the same in the world?

Do we need to sit down and analyse exactly what is happening? Do we need to fight for the agricultural sector? The representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has stated it is that sector that is doing all this. It is the people living in cities and going up in aeroplanes who are causing the problems. We are self-sufficient if people want to look at what we had in agriculture land, at what we have planted and at what we have now. However we are not putting that argument forward. We are getting beaten every time. We must take them on but I note the figures coming out in respect of subsidisation of these so-called new green ideas amount to pence. We will not have the changes that are needed. I visited Banbridge to look at an anaerobic digester that worked on grass. I did the figures, however, and even at 9 cent per kilowatt hour, the farmer would be getting nothing for his land. What does grain sequester? Do we have all those figures? I would love to know. Witnesses who appeared before the committee painted a lovely picture to the effect that all the grain farmers in the brewing sector were doing mightily. The following week, they were outside Leinster House stating they were going bust. This is the problem that is happening with the agricultural communities.

Do the witnesses think that each county should take its own percentage of plantation? Should it all be loaded to Leitrim? Should it be loaded to certain counties just because they might not have as good land? Do we look at the consequences of a food shortage, because we are all gone mighty now, we will have no cattle in the field if at all possible. However, people have to live and eat. They are not all going to be vegetarians and they will not live on fresh air. Are we going down a road whereby everyone in Europe and the world is being sucked into something? We have to start living in the real world.