Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned animal welfare. I am an active farmer myself. For any farmer worth his salt, animal welfare is the most important thing. It means maintaining animals and feeding them to keep the business going. That is what animal welfare is about. People, particularly those in the west, the north west and the Border, are going to run out of fodder. The Minister is correct to mention that there is a lot of fodder in the country. In the south east, where I come from, there was good sunshine and grass growth this year. I believe there is enough fodder in the whole country to supply our fellow farmers in the affected areas. I am asking the Minister to bring in an aid scheme that will bring the fodder from where it is available to the people further north who might not be able to afford it because they have their cattle in since August, in some cases, and have run out of fodder and money. We need to help them by getting the fodder from where it is available up to where it is needed.

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