P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I rise tonight to support the small, the old and the young farmers of Ireland, to whom this Government and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have done so much damage since summer. I fear the damage that has already been done to the agricultural sector, which will take years to repair, is only the first stage on a slippery slope of abandoning those who derive their income from the land of our country. My biggest fear is that it is the first step in a litany of damage that the Minister will do to this vital sector of our economy.

The Minister, who is only a few wet months in the job, will not even admit that it is wet and extend the time for the farm waste management scheme to be completed. He allowed this budget to attack the young, the elderly and those on low incomes in the agricultural sector even though he is charged on behalf of the people with protecting and securing its future.

The provisions in this budget can only be described as a slash and burn policy for the agricultural sector. Slash the ambitions of young people planning a lifetime in farming, slash a quarter of the income of small farmers and burn the hopes of those who want to take it easy at the end of their working lives. The Minister allowed the Minister for Finance and his mandarins to ride roughshod over the agricultural sector. That does not surprise me, however, because does anyone know a barrister who ever assisted in solving a problem?

As the IFA leader, Padraig Walshe, has stated on a number of occasions, the Deputies opposite — and God knows a lot of them are here tonight — have betrayed and forgotten their roots.

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