Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

It is never the wrong time to do the right thing and this is a good time to support farmers because they are the backbone of our economy, with 31% of our exports derived from agriculture. The Senator is pushing an open door and I propose that we have an all day debate on agriculture during the next session. We always had such a debate in the past and it is timely that it takes place again.

I thank Senators for their co-operation today in sitting at 12 p.m. to facilitate our presence in the Dáil to listen to the budget deliberations.