Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Walsh, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Aylward and Treacy, they took a brave stance early on regarding the decoupling proposals. They were out on their own because the IFA was not prepared to make a decision. It was a brave decision taken by the Minister, Deputy Walsh, and welcomed by most farmers, certainly those in the west, to have 100% decoupling.

On the issue of force majeure, I realise the closing date for applications has passed and decisions will be taken soon. I have been speaking to a young woman in farming who has three children and lost her husband two weeks ago. I hope there is some way that lady can qualify even though the closing date for applications has passed.

On the nitrates directive, over a month ago an article in the farming supplement of the Irish Independent stated the EU Commission said Ireland has not gone far enough. I do not agree with that statement. The facts should be pointed out. A booklet, Good Farming Practices, was produced by agreement with the IFA, the Government and the then Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Yates, and the Minister for Environment and Local Government, Deputy Howlin, in 1996. At that time the figures were agreed. The nitrates directive dates to 1991. In fairness, the Minister has no choice but to implement it, otherwise he would come before the European Court because it has not been implemented since 1991. While I do not agree with it the Minister has no option but to implement it.

On the issue of slurry spreading and the dates for same I ask the Minister of State to be flexible. The dates mentioned may not be suitable for the farmers in the west because of the climate.

In regard to the export of live cattle, the cattle exporters from the west came before the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food and expressed their problem. Some 30,000 cattle were exported from the west last year, having been shipped from Rosslare. The exporters in the west had to take their cattle to Dublin for testing and take them by lorry to Rosslare, which is ridiculous. It would make more sense to have a licensed yard in the west to test those cattle and take them directly to Rosslare and I ask the Minister of State to look at that issue.

When watching the news on Friday night I was surprised to hear the leader of Fine Gael, Deputy Kenny, ask his supporters, after they have voted for their own candidate, to continue their preferences for the Greens and the Labour Party. Last Thursday, Patricia McKenna MEP, a senior member of the Green Party, was campaigning outside the Department of Agriculture and Food with Compassion in World Farming as part of its efforts to ban cattle exports. Such a ban would have a very detrimental effect on farming in the west, where I come from, and I wonder if Deputy Kenny realises the destruction of farming that would occur if the Green Party was ever given control of the Department of Agriculture and Food.

Senator Burke said the Minister, Deputy Joe Walsh, should not take the credit for keeping foot and mouth disease out of the country. In fairness to the Minister, he took a leading role in the fight to keep it out and if it had come into the country, we all know whose head would have been on the block and who would have been blamed. In my opinion he is not being given the thanks due for keeping it out of the country.