Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All of us recognise that both the quality of water and our waterways have to be protected. I suppose overuse of fertilisers, etc., can be a problem and is an issue in many cases. However, we also have to recognise that we were at the ploughing championships last week and it was more like a day in July than one in September. That can often happen. This is the problem when one farms by the calendar or one has strict rules set in the context of the dates that apply.

Grass will certainly have been growing very well in the past couple of weeks. We can see that. Indeed, even in this weather we have now, while there is a little bit of rain, there is still a lot of heat in the soil and in the air. Weather and climate patterns are changing. There needs to be more flexibility to recognise that if one simply sets dates for things, it will not work. If we looked back to maybe 30, 40 or 50 years ago, we could perhaps see that the climate was much more rigid than it is now. We are seeing much more movement as regards our climate.

I take the Minister's point that it is not good to be trying to grow grass in October. However, many farmers' slatted sheds are full. Up to now, it has been too wet to spread slurry. That is their difficulty. They have to put their cattle back in and they need to get the slurry out. They have not be able to do it up until now in many parts of the country, particularly in the north and the north west. There needs to be some flexibility.

If the Minister is saying that a person who is under pressure can contact the Department and that some arrangement can be arrived at, I welcome that. However, it needs to be clear what that arrangement will be.

See this speech in context