Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before the last election I proposed a €200 per head payment for suckler cows. I was derided by the Minister at the time. Slowly but surely the farming organisations came on board.

The last CAP was very bad for suckler farmers, particularly for those west of the Shannon. Many of them used to export or sell the young cattle up the country before they got the ten-month punch. We need to support all farmers. We need all land farmed. That is the point that the Minister's predecessor failed to grasp and I am not sure anything has changed. I ask the Minister to give consideration to this now. It could be done quite simply. There is a lot of money unspent under the CAP. At the end of the day, we need our farming industry. It is an indigenous industry with a very high export ratio to inputs. I urge the Minister to be brave and do this.

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