Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was studying the report from this Council meeting. I am extremely disappointing that no solutions were found or even sought to support our pig industry. The European Commissioner for agriculture came here some months ago and told us to use every tool in the toolbox. We have used nothing. The pig industry is still waiting for some support before it disappears. We lost our fishing industry and did nothing about it. We lost our beef industry under a Fianna Fáil Government too. I am disappointed about that. Something has to be done now, not in a few weeks or after Easter. They are not able to sustain themselves.

Ireland has 2 million vehicles, more than 1.5 million houses, and 250,000 small businesses that use fossil fuels for heating, manufacturing and the movement of goods and people. When will the Minister, Deputy Ryan, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, other Ministers and backbenchers grasp that nettle and say that we cannot just keep taxing them and expect them to change their ways?

They must get supports so that it is not all the stick, or the big bata that the Taoiseach has. We must encourage them. We must get rid of the folly and the old pipe dreams that we have and deal with things practically by supporting our people. We are not getting support from Europe because we are not looking for it. All we want is to be the good boys of Europe. When the master says, “Jump”, we say. “How high?”. That has served us badly. We got badly burned over the decades.

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