P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important motion for debate. I am disappointed the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, that girl from Donegal, is not here to provide me with a more informative reply. However, I will leave it to the Minister of State, Deputy Wallace, to bridge the gap in her absence.

How or why can the Minister launch a national farm improvement scheme grant in mid-July and end it, suspend it and run out of money, in three and half months? This is incredible treatment of a major industry and must be more than an embarrassment to the Minister. Even the HSE, that famous body operating the health services, normally takes ten months before it starts making cutbacks. It is one more of those gimmicks used to gain votes in the recent election that was so well portrayed by the Department on behalf of the Minister and her party.

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