Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

As a Dublin TD, obviously I am not as familiar as some other Deputies with the problems on the ground and the challenges that face rural Ireland or the agriculture sector. However, I have listened intently to this debate and many previous debates in the area of agriculture and I have started to develop some understanding of the problems facing our farmers and rural Ireland. I still do not pretend to be an expert, but a very definite picture is coming into view for me when one looks at the problems faced by farmers and rural Ireland generally. It starts with the fact that agriculture is our biggest industry - it is a truly enormous industry, with billions of euro of exports every year, 230,000 jobs linked directly or indirectly to the sector, and a fairly staggering amount of money coming in from the EU. The figure I have is €1.2 billion, but I heard the Minister talk about €1.4 billion.

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