Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the progress the Department has made but the reality is that while there is an increase and it is an improvement, it is from a very low base which nobody could possibly defend. The question is whether the Department is meeting its targets. The last time I was in this Chamber with Deputy Fitzmaurice the Minister of State accused him of being very negative. People cannot be legitimately accused of being negative for pointing out the obvious.

I very much welcome the new forestry programme and the additional funding. With inflation running at 10%, the failure to index-link it is a problem. For the ten years that inflation was low, it was not a problem but the position is different when inflation is as it has been for the last 12 months. The Minister of State will know better than I do, from sitting at Cabinet, what the predictions are for inflation for the next decade. A sizeable number of economists believe we have entered into a new cycle of interest rates and inflation will remain very high. That will eat into the additional money provided.

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