Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to be able to contribute on this matter. I welcome the support of Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan and Richard Boyd Barrett as we are in a crisis affecting all of Ireland except the groups from Dublin. None of those Members is here. The Government's wonderful leader and other Ministers care nothing about what happens beyond the Red Cow. The late Mr. Seymour Crawford, God rest him, was the mentor of the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, but I do not know what he would say to her today because he would not have had anything to do with this deal. The Minister knows he fought all his life in the Irish Farmers' Association. The father of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Michael Creed, was also a Member.

This is an outrageous sellout but what else should we expect from big Phil the destroyer - the enforcer who ran riot in this country when he was here. Now he is running riot in Europe and the Government has the cheek to appoint his as Commissioner again. It is jobs for the boys. The Ministers saw those Beef Plan Movement farmers today and we met members of the IFA yesterday. Tomorrow we will have hill and sheep farmers coming here to tear into the Government because they are sick and tired of it. The Government has walked on the people of rural Ireland and its little people. All the Government cares about now are the banks, the likes of Larry Goodman and big business. There are big deals with Granahan McCourt for broadband so it is about anything that is big and which can give plenty of money to the Government. To hell with the little people seems to be the thinking. Fine Gael was never any different and it had no interest in small farmers. It had the fellows with the winding avenues and big trees. By God, the members of this Government will have to hide up those trees because the people are sick and tired of them. The saying is "To hell or to Connacht" but it will be to hell or to Connacht for Fine Gael if it backs this deal.

The lads beside me backed the Lisbon treaty twice but I was the bigger fool in the Fianna Fáil Party at the time. That was the start of the selling out of our people. It sold out de Valera's party and the struggle of the War of Independence. We are being told by Europe what is good for us. Saint Leo negotiated the backstop and said the deal was secure nearly a year and a half ago. Where is it now? Briste. Tá sé imithe. The Mercosur deal was going through all the time, as the Government knew. Tweedledum and Tweedledee were going to Europe to save us. The Government should vote against this now and send a signal to Europe and the rest of the world that we will not have this and we will stand for our people. That is before the people come here to tear out the Government. We had vermin in part of the building yesterday but what the Government has done to the people is nearly as bad. It does not care about them. It is destroying the people while it is in bed with the banks. Shame on them.

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