Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Approximately 170,000 people are employed directly in the agrifood sector and 250,000 people employed indirectly in the wider rural areas in agrifood production. Does the Tánaiste realise the extent of the crisis these farmers are in? I truly do not think he does.

Tonight hundreds of farmers will attend the beef plan meeting in the Westlodge Hotel in Bantry. The Tánaiste may ask how do I know there will be hundreds. I will tell him why: they have had two meetings already in Kerry and hundreds of people turned up. West Cork will be no different tonight. These farmers are near the edge and are attending in their hundreds hoping this group or someone out there will step in and deal with this crisis. The Tánaiste keeps telling me that we cannot have a stand-alone Minister with 36 days to go to Brexit. This should have been done two years ago.

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