Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I believe the Department should include it as a significant part of the negotiation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Department should indicate that on average it needs an annual contingency of X. Perhaps if it has been a particularly good year, the Department could refund X in December if it has made savings. The farming community generally is so important to our economy and it is entitled to have some confidence that should disaster strike, the Department would have the situation totally in hand and it would not require the Taoiseach and the commander in chief on RTÉ every evening.