Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to express my concern at the news emanating from Brussels yesterday that there is a proposed 5% cut to the CAP budget. We have to redouble our efforts to reverse this proposal. The Taoiseach has indicated that as a net contributor to the EU budget, he is prepared to allow Ireland to increase its contribution to the CAP and to require other member states to step up to the plate also. We cannot contemplate this 5% cut. Payments and supports under the Common Agricultural Policy are the difference between an income and no income for farmers. It is a very small income at that, with all the costs of running farms, feeding cattle, fertiliser and so on. The farmers would simply be lost without this payment and we will see people leaving farming if we do not get this right.

I welcome the announcement of the national flood management plan today, particularly the long-awaited announcement of a flood relief scheme for Ballina and Westport. I have intimate knowledge of the devastation that flooding in early 2014 brought to people along the banks of the River Moy in Ballina. Homes were destroyed, including those of a lot of older people living in Bachelors Walk, Arbuckle Row and Clare Street. Every time there is heavy rain and a high tide, they are in fear of being flooded again. I commend Mayo County Council and the fire service. They are always to the fore with pumps and sandbags, clearing channels and doing their utmost to prevent this. It has been identified as a significant flood risk area. We have gone through the processes of the flood report and a proposal for flood walls. It is very satisfying to hear today that this will proceed to detailed design, planning permission and ultimately construction and, best of all, that it is to be funded under the €1 billion promised for flood defences up to 2027. That is good news for Ballina.