Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to dispel the myth that grain farmers are large farmers with massive amounts of acres of cereal. They are not. Many of them are small farmers. I have had approximately eight meetings with farmers in my area affected by the crop failure last year. Many of them are owners of small holdings of only eight, nine or ten acres and their entire crop has been wiped out. There is no argument in terms of precedent and other sectors trying to get in on the back of it because other sectors at least got to sell produce this year. Unfortunately, many cereal farmers price did not matter because they had nothing to sell. There is a crisis in this area and the Minister is well aware of it. I have had as many meetings with the Minister on this issue as I have had with constituents in west Cork. I will continue to work with the Minister to ensure that a properly thought-out and developed package of aid is put in place to help these farmers.

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