Mr. Eamon Horgan:

I will leave Mr. McCrohan to answer on the insurance side. I was just listening to the presentation there. I liked the statement that this social farming that we are doing, the Kerry social farming from my side, will have huge benefits down the road. I am glad the committee has seen that. It is great to be in the Houses here today, farmers among farmers and lobbying farmers. You could not get more ideal - people who understand what we are doing and are working hard on the farm every day. There was talk of budgets earlier and I will touch on the budget. Yesterday evening, I was waiting while the budget was announced. I had a path worn to Deputy Healy-Rae’s door giving out to him. My colleague, Mr. McGreehan beside me, is on the sheep committee in Dublin. We were waiting on an announcement on a budget. My biggest fear was to face an IFA meeting and to be asked why did we lost the money but, thanks be to God, due to the hard work of the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, and all the other TDs that budget was announced yesterday evening for the sheep. That meant so much but my fear relates to when I will be sitting up on the tractor next year. We are getting budgets from three or four different bodies. I appreciate where the Senator is coming from and he is 100% right but I am just speaking from security around what we got. We have been dealing with the Department of agriculture. We could not be dealing with a nicer and sounder group of people, all farmers. We see everyone like Deputies Fitzmaurice, Healy-Rae and Collins. I was listening to them the other night, and the Senator, on the television debate fighting for farmers the whole time and there are all the other Deputies here who are fighting for farmers. My fear is that I will be sitting up on the tractor listening to the budget hearing how we get X amount from the Department of agriculture, another 10% from another body, another 10% here and another 10% there. Two of the bodies we were getting money the previous year have had their budgets cut. Now, all of a sudden, Kerry Social Farming will find they will have to pull the money from us. That is the fear I have. I appreciate that there are other bodies involved in this. In my mind there is no sounder group of people who understand this, support it and keep it going, than the Department of agriculture.

We have an excellent relationship with the Department. That is where I am coming from. I would be confident that we will go away from here with that. I would greatly appreciate it because it is so important.