Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully accept and have no doubt about the validity of our figures. A lecturer told me one time that he can interpret statistics 100 different ways. I have absolute certainty in the validity of our figures. There is probably a message there for us. Farmers have made a long journey and have made considerable sacrifices. Other agencies will come to this committee and to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage and paint the farming community as the villain, whereas the witnesses' bear out that farmers have come a considerable journey, have done an awful lot and are probably not getting the credit for it. Is that a fair assessment?