Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach made a mistake about the Killarney bypass. I hope he will brief himself on the agricultural situation because the programme for Government makes explicit commitments to supporting agriculture. This is a hardy annual: every year the slurry spreading deadline, 15 October, comes up. With so much bad weather this year, as in many other years, farmers cannot possibly empty their slurry and make best use of it. Spreading it in wet weather causes pollution. This is ridiculous. It should never have been based on a calendar month. It should be based on climatic conditions. Will the Taoiseach direct the Ministers for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and maybe the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the three who have passed this around, to see sense and allow it to be done in good weather and not in conditions that are appalling?

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