Francis O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I, too, welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House to hear statements on farming. As the Minister stated at the outset of his contribution, it is timely we are having this debate. While I do not wish to be negative towards Senator Prendergast I was not happy to hear her run down the Government in terms of its support for agriculture and farming in general. Fianna Fáil and the Green Party are supportive of farmers.