Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

For a number of weeks I have been asking at the Business Committee for a debate on the sheep sector. In many areas of agriculture, including sheep, pigs and now even the calves, there is a huge pressure on farmers with the cost of inputs for materials such as fertiliser. There is a constant berating and demonising of our farming community. I remind the House that farming families looked after this country very well through the decades since the inception of the State. There is a constant demonisation, downgrading and blackguarding by reports that identify farmers as being not good people to look after the environment, which is totally untrue. We need a debate in this House on those issues. We need to respect the farmers and the farm families of Ireland and what they produce.

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