Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

The fact that the farm organisations welcome it does not of itself make it correct or right. It does not mean that when one is spending public or taxpayers' money one simply throws it at a problem without any strategic objective underpinning it. Notwithstanding the fact that the IFA and others have welcomed it, I stand by my criticism that throwing €18 million at the sheep sector is not the solution. We should have sought to spend the €18 million but to seek a return for that investment. We seek for those involved to increase breeding ewe numbers and improve the gene pool of the national flock by running a pedigree ram with the flock or whatever. These are strategic objectives but I regret to say this scheme has all the hallmarks of the Fianna Fáil strategy that got us into the mess we are in by throwing public money at problems with no strategic objectives underpinning them.

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