Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will confine myself to the issue of farming. It is the Deputies who know about farming who should confine themselves to the issue and who should look after farmers. The three Government Deputies present in the House were elected by people from rural areas but they will not support them. They went around, knocking on doors to get votes and support but when it was their turn to support the people, they did not do so. They did not go to Brussels and ask for funding. We should not even be asking, with the Taoiseach acting like a lapdog to Ms Merkel for the last six years; we should be demanding the money. The fund is already in place. The French would not stand for it and nobody else would stand for it.

Deputy Penrose made reference to regulations. When we get regulations from Europe, our brave boys in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine add about seven statutory instruments to them and that is all they do. They make jobs for themselves. We have one agricultural officer for every 30 farmers-----

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