Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a touch of naivety in the Minister's response. In my county, County Monaghan, for example, 48% of households do not have access to adequate broadband. That is the Government's own figure. I would imagine, and I think everyone would accept, that if we were to take the farming community alone, that figure would be much higher. Where does the Minister think these farmers are buying, even when they go online? They are meeting in car parks and in cars. Many people are congregating in a small space with one young lad operating the phone because in some cases we are talking about elderly farmers. That is not doing anything for physical distancing or protecting us from Covid. The farmers who have to do this would be much better off if they were standing physically distanced around a mart ring for a restricted period. I am not just making up these things; these are the calls I have taken today and over the weekend from buyers and sellers who have pleaded with me to make the case in as strong as possible terms to the Minister to stand up for them. I am making that case once again as sincerely as I can. I urge the Minister to intervene on this issue.

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