Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is very welcome that that type of awareness will be created and that there will be an opportunity for people to avail of it.

The Minister also mentioned an increase of €14 million in the horse and greyhound sector as a result of online betting. That must be welcomed also.

I come from an area where, like many small areas around the country, the greyhound sector is usually the small kid on the block. I would like to see funding being made available to promote that industry. So many people are involved in greyhound racing in many parts of the country, although there is no big money in it. There is a big social side to it, however, as well as having an income.

The agri-taxation aspect of the budget is another welcome package which can help to deliver the necessary supports for farming.

The Minister is saving €439 million on the rural development programme. However, some people in the farming community are coming off the REPs scheme and have received no payment for this year or most of next year. Is any provision being made to bring payments forward so people can at least have some form of income?

The Minister for Social Protection has again blatantly ignored the fact that nothing has been done about the farm assist scheme. It was an escape valve for many people and kept them viable on the land. I know it is not the Minister's portfolio but that scheme should have been made available. The farm assist scheme contributed to people's survival on the land and enabled them to live in their own communities. Many such people are no longer actively involved in any type of farming as a consequence. Has any consideration been given to that? Has the Minister lobbied the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, to try to get that valuable scheme back? If one travels along the west coast, and the south-west coast in particular, one can see that farm incomes are at an all-time low. That is particularly the case for small beef farmers and those involved in sucklers. They are very dependant on some kind of support mechanism in order to survive and maintain their livelihoods.

There is more opportunity for future expansion in the dairy sector. We all accept that with the abolition of the quota, many people will revert to that sector. The Minister's own figures show a 30% increase in milk production, which will be quite substantial. There is a cost factor for those involved in improving their own farm holdings as well as for new entrants.

See this speech in context