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

Today we are discussing what effectively seems like a cut to the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, budget. How is this seen as a good deal? Rural Ireland and farmers in particular have in the past number of years suffered severely because of very bad deals being done and we are now looking at a further cut in forthcoming budgets that will mainly affect Irish agriculture. I need to know how this can be seen as a good deal. The Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, might explain it.

How will this affect the suckler or beef farmer who has struggled over the past number of years? How will it affect the dairy sector, sheep and pig farmers? All farming sectors have been hit very hard and the people involved have serious worries. We need answers today.

Fishermen in this country have also been hit badly and they are the forgotten people in Irish politics. I spoke at length during Government formation discussions about how there should be a Minister with responsibility for fisheries but that has not happened. People involved with fishing are in the back seat of society and the sector has been feeling the effects badly. These people are forgotten in any compensation packages we have seen to date. This goes for inshore fishermen as well as the men on the trawlers fighting for their livelihoods and having to worry about Brexit around the corner, which may lead to us and every other European trawler being kicked out of British waters. They will come to the céad míle fáilte waters that have been there off Ireland for decades, and there has never been a political fight for them.

I hope our tourism sector was protected with this deal. We still have a VAT rate of 13.5% and I again call for the rate to be reduced, if not to zero, to 5%. Some Fianna Fáil Deputies looked for the zero rate but are now seeking the 5% rate. We need that deal. The rate is 23% in some cases. The publicans are on their knees. The Government closed the doors of many rural pubs last week with the terrible decision to throw such businesses in with the nightclubs. It was a disgraceful decision because common sense indicates the two sectors should have been separated.

It seems to be okay to allow airlines to bring people to the country without any controls. I have maintained all along that we need same-day testing with results at our airports. We could have it but the Government has refused to carry it out, saying it amounts to 75% to 80% proof of a person having the virus. No proof is required today as the doors are open and people can come in. The poor publican with five or ten customers had to keep his doors shut. The Government is kidding the nation and people are copping on to this very quickly. They are angry. Will the Government drop the 23% VAT rate on alcohol to at least 5% in order to give those publicans some chance of survival in the weeks ahead?

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