Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the farmers from Cork South-West who are in the Gallery. This is how grave the situation is: people made the long journey up from west Cork to be here this evening.

I commend my colleagues, Deputies McConalogue and Cahill, on bringing forward the motion this evening. Again, we have proved that Fianna Fáil is the party for the farmers. All my life I have associated Fine Gael with the big farmer. However, at the moment the Minister is not looking after the big, small or middling farmer. The Minister needs to sit up and take heed.

The fodder crisis in Cork South-West is now a state of emergency. My three offices have been inundated with farmers telling me of their plight. It is not good enough. It is in the Minister's hands to help them. I could talk about this issue for an hour. I feel very upset and emotional when I see grown men and women crying in my office over what they are going through at present.

As well as addressing the fodder crisis, I ask the Minister to pay the outstanding one third of the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and sheep farm payments that are due since last Christmas. I am referring to last year's payments that still have not been paid and at least that would give farmers a little more cashflow.

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