Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Ó Cuív knows that in relation to the national plan and our own budget over the next number of years, I am well able to fight my corner and I will be fighting that corner at Cabinet level with the Minister for Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to make sure that the existing programmes we have in my Department on the rural regeneration and urban generation schemes will not have any cuts. My Department will not be sacrificed for any other Department. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed will have my full support in anything I can do to support him. Deputy Ó Cuív is quite correct that there are discussions and signals coming out of Europe already on the CAP but that is something that will have to be dealt with at Government level. The Taoiseach is away today representing the country on Government business so that will be dealt with in Brussels. I will make sure that in my own Department, and that is all I can speak for, I can protect the existing funding I have and hope in some areas to be able to increase it.