Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy Helen McEntee on her maiden speech. I wish her a long and fruitful time as a Member of Dáil Éireann.

I would like to emphasise a few points before the debate concludes. Farmers all over the country are out of money and credit. Not all of them are in a position to get credit from co-ops, etc., because not all of them deal with dairy co-ops. This problem is not going to go away in the next few weeks and it has been exacerbated by the weather. I suggested the Government put a fund together. I never specified the details of how it should be done, but I suggested Teagasc be used to disburse it. I am pleased that the Government eventually put some money together. The Minister has made a number of millions of euro available. He has made it clear that there is no limit on the amount of money available within the terms of the schemes he announced. It is incumbent on us to operate in a spirit of solidarity. At the end of the day, Deputies on all sides of the House have genuine concerns about farmers.

I was involved in an impromptu meeting at Maam Cross mart last Saturday. A very effective plan for the importation of hay from England into Connemara was put together by the mart in question, the IFA and CDS Teoranta, the co-op I used to manage, with the help of Connacht Gold and the county IFA executive over the telephone. I spoke today with the people handling this isse on a day-to-day basis. They stressed to me the importance of including next week in the fodder transport scheme. I, therefore, ask the Minister to consider extending the scheme for one more week. I am not looking for an open-ended extension, as one more week should see it out. It would stop people from bringing in or buying unnecessary supplies that might not be needed. If the Minister concedes that a one week extension is needed, I will not call a vote on the motion. It would be a demonstration of solidarity. It would show that we were all big enough to see the bigger picture. It would be a signal that while we might have our debates and arguments, we could act in a constructive manner also. Having an extra week would make it easier to manage this issue.

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