John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I thank the Fianna Fáil Party for raising the issue and for keeping agriculture at the top of the agenda because that gives the Minister an opportunity to articulate the progress he is making and which has been made in agriculture and the agrifood industry and to point out the key role this industry plays in helping the recovery of the country and in providing growth and jobs, as evidenced by yesterday's announcement by the Kerry Group.

I also compliment the farming community throughout Ireland, north, south, east and west, which carried out such a dignified protest yesterday. It sent out a strong message yesterday through its day of action. I was glad to meet farmers from Mayo and the west in particular and to listen to their concerns, expectations and demands. I agree with speakers from all sides of the House that every farmer, whether one with small, large, good, fertile or infertile lands, deserves to be supported in earning a living on the land. There is sometimes a perception that small farmers in the west of Ireland are not productive, but I would like to kill that myth once and for all.

I also welcome the recent announcement of a €20 million AEOS scheme by the Minister. I hope too that the suckler cow welfare scheme will be extended or rolled over. In that context, I note the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government halved the rate of this scheme. The CAP negotiations are entering a crucial stage.

I compliment the Minister on the way he has thrown himself into the task of forming alliances with other countries. That will be to the benefit of Ireland's cause and will help us to secure what is good for Ireland. I welcome his engagement in holding public meetings around the country. I look forward to welcoming him to Claremorris next week for the first of those meetings. I also welcome the announcement that the payment of €500 million in single farm payments is starting today. Those payments are in addition to the disadvantage payments that were made some weeks ago. It has been a difficult summer for farming, but farmers have met the challenges. The message of yesterday's demonstration was about making it happen rather than letting it happen. It will allow all of us at all levels to bring a stronger message to Europe about the importance of agriculture in Ireland.

See this speech in context