Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Are we here talking about closing the stable door when the horse is gone? Has this already been signed and are we merely rubber stamping it here? I also have huge issues about Ireland buying these credits from Slovakia, which is not meeting its own targets. It is farcical. I have huge issues with the whole roll-out. There are schemes and schemes across all-of-government. Housing is no different. It is actually worse. These are convoluted schemes people cannot access. For years we talked about Northern Ireland where there are solar panels on every farm building and every place you pass. Here, we have finally removed planning permission but the grant schemes and support schemes are so convoluted, and are deliberately designed as such, no one can draw them down. I say that hand on my heart. Many other schemes are designed the same way. They are designed by Departments which seem to want to make things more difficult for people.

There is the Government’s green dream here. Many aspects of it are just big fear. It is frightening people. I am not a climate change denier but the demonising of farmers, agricultural people and rural people is shameful. As other speakers said, we do not have electric charge points for vehicles in the country and we certainly do not have the tractors, equipment or whatever stuff to harvest our crops and for farm production. We will keep going here with culling cow numbers or the cutting nitrates and everything so that we will not be able to produce enough food for our people to live on. It is shameful.

All the NGOs are lined up behind the Government and they are well funded. There is nearly €5.5 billion. There are all the different agencies. The EPA is coming out with reports on things that it has no business going near. It could go to plenty other places to do its work but it is not doing it. It is the greatest con job and today proves it where the Government is doing this deal with Slovakia, a country that is not meeting its own targets.

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