Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The cost of ration. As we know, the cost of fertiliser has doubled. In terms of sustainability, farmers are not looking to spread more fertiliser, they are just looking to maintain the level at which they were spreading it. However, it is prohibitive when fertiliser is doubling in cost. Inevitably, this increase in costs does not just impact the farmer; it gets passed onto the consumer as well. As the Taoiseach knows well, farming is the backbone of our rural communities. We need to protect it, intervene and provide supports. From the sustainability perspective, one of the key measures is protected urea, but that is also increasing in cost because of the energy crisis. I would like to hear the Taoiseach's thoughts on measures to protect that sector.

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