Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

I support the motion tabled by Deputy Creed. The Minister should not be afraid to go to Europe and get an extension for this scheme for the farmers concerned. The numbers do not really matter because following the budget, farmers are an endangered species. Every farmer is vital to the well-being of this country. Look at what the French did. They were never afraid to protect their agriculture and do not stand on ceremony because of bureaucracy. Look at the way President Sarkozy put Mandelson back in his box on the WTO negotiations. Europe wants the Lisbon treaty to be passed by the extended farming community, which is the backbone of rural Ireland, so Europe will listen. We were told that the Lisbon treaty could not be changed and was written in stone, but now we know it will be changed. This can be done in Europe so the Minister should go there with confidence.

Part of the problem is that the Green tail is wagging a toothless Fianna Fáil dog. The Green Party's priorities are bicycles and bulbs. If they get their way in rural Ireland, which they are getting from this Fianna Fáil-led Government, all that will be left are bachelors, briars, bullocks and bushes to throw them into.

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