Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With respect, the Minister outlined the importance of the sector and no one will question that. The question we asked was, with the extraordinary circumstances they found themselves in, what financial help or emergency funding is there?

We saw the mushroom sector virtually abandoned when Brexit hit and a number of growers went out of business. The nursery sector, in particular, is a significant employer. They have long-term contracts. I visited a major nursery in my constituency employing 20 and it had contracts. They had plants sown they will sell in three or four years' time. Unfortunately, many of those plants are now badly damaged. Not only have they the loss of those plants but, if they are to keep their customers going forward, they will have to source plants somewhere else to fulfil the contracts to which they are committed. There are significant financial pressure on this sector. I merely picked out the nursery sector as it is labour and capital intensive. If they do not get emergency financial assistance, there will be significant closures in this sector. While the Minister outlined the importance of the sector, he is not focusing on the immediate problems that they have.

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