Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this very important matter. There is no doubt in the world but that we have benefited magnificently from Europe over the past 40 to 50 years. However, we are now at a crossroads and we may no longer get as much out of Europe as we would like. We are getting a lot of dictation and directives that are hurting people, including farmers and working-class communities. The climate change directives are pushing our society towards a radically different future that will make many of our citizens in rural Ireland poorer, as well as people right across the country and in the rest of Europe. That is my considered opinion.

We are hearing a lot of talk at present about reducing the dairy herd. Deputies in this House have pointed out that Irish farmers produce the best milk in a cleaner and more efficient way than do many of the factory farmers in Europe. Irish farmers feed their cattle on green grass for most of the year and they must be rewarded for that.

This State and this Government have not demanded sufficient funds from Europe for basic infrastructure. I am thinking, for instance, of sewerage schemes in rural towns and villages in County Kerry. All of that could be financed out of the EU's emergency pandemic response fund, but Ireland has not looked for that funding.

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