Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will raise three issues. The first is the fodder crisis. The Leader indicated that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will come to the Seanad. We should ask him to specifically address the fodder crisis in the north and west as a result of the bad weather. The Minister spoke at some length at the IFA annual general meeting yesterday. The Taoiseach attended the AGM yesterday and expressed some concerns about a number of issues in agriculture. That resonated very well with the IFA. It is indebted to him. It appreciates the Taoiseach and the Minister attending its annual general meeting yesterday. It is a sign of their enormous interest in rural Ireland and agriculture. That is important. There has been some suggestion by the IFA and other organisations that a voucher scheme for supplementary nuts, silage or hay should be introduced. It needs to be done. There needs to be a single strong message in the Department's response to the situation.I would appreciate if the Leader could do that.

I acknowledge the sad passing of a former Senator, Dr. Maurice Hayes, who served two terms in the Seanad. I know we will have another opportunity to pay tribute to him. He was a very proud Ulsterman. He was a personal friend of mine. I worked closely with him and served with him on the National Forum for Europe for over five years. He brought amazing skills. That is for another day. I acknowledge that on our first day back since his passing.

I wish to raise an issue that appeared in today's Inside Politics digest of The Irish Times. I will not mention the journalist's name because that is not appropriate. More important is the issue. It stated:

The Seanad is back from its Christmas break and will ease into the day at 2.30 pm with commencement matters, followed by the order of business, otherwise known as the procession of windbagging.

I think that is grossly offensive and grossly insulting. People will say a clever politician would not get up and criticise the media for fear that he or she would not get coverage or support.