Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Again, I make the point that sending about €150 million back to Europe to a REPowerEU fund is really unforgivable in light of the challenges that farmers are facing. The Minister will have heard yesterday from the Irish Grain Growers of a once-in-a-generation wipeout for a lot of farmers in a sector that we want and need to grow and for which we have targets to meet. I understand that the deal has already been done as regards sending this money back to the EU at the end of the year but will that €150 million be ring-fenced? Can we seek to have it ring-fenced for Ireland and for agriculture when it goes into that new fund? Again, I cannot understand how a link to Brexit has been made in promoting organics and in the context of sheep and lamb going to England and New Zealand but a link cannot be found for tillage, or at least an attempt made to find one. We should submit the application and if it is refused and does not work out, that is fine but we should at least try.

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