Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share Senator Denis O’Donovan's concerns about fisheries and the large boat fishing off the coast. Small fishermen who have difficulty surviving and making a living contact us regularly. They are very worried when such large boats hoover up all of the fish. If there is anything we can do about this, we should.

I welcome the moneys made available by the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brian Hayes, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, to repair the damage done around the coast by the recent storms. I visited several farmers in north Sligo on Monday evening and saw the horrific damage done to farmland, some of which had been washed away. According to newspaper reports, 250 acres in total have been lost to the sea. There has also been serious damage caused to fences.

Would it be possible to get compensation for those farmers to help repair the fences and put the land back into productive use? I welcome the fact that it was clarified at an agriculture meeting last week that no penalties will arise for those farmers and they can consolidate their payments on the single farm payment and disadvantaged area payment. Much damage has been done. I visited a number of farms and would like to get compensation for those affected if that is possible.