John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I also wish to raise the issue of flooding. While I agree with much of what Senator Leyden said, I raise, in particular, the plight of farmers, many of whom have lost their winter fodder. Will it be possible to discuss agriculture next week and the impact of the flooding on that sector? Recent media reports suggest farm incomes will be 20% lower this year than last year. Many in our society have experienced dramatic decreases in their incomes but agriculture has taken the biggest hit of any sector. The Government has inflicted much of this by suspending the REPS and other schemes. I urge the Deputy Leader to arrange that discussion in the run-up to the budget in order that the Minister for Finance will look more favourably on the agriculture sector than he has in the past two budgets. There is no reason not to have it next Tuesday or Thursday afternoon.