Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for indicating that she would be agreeable to publish the Grant Thornton report. It would be helpful in our role as legislators. Ultimately, we want the best outcome for this legislation for everybody. It is contained in the programme for Government, so we are halfway there and now it is a question of the compensation package and supporting these rural communities in Donegal, Laois and Kerry. There is rightly a heavy emphasis on sustainable rural communities. While they are small businesses, they were bigger businesses and have already had to scale back because they knew this was coming down the track. I hope the Minister of State will be able to make the Grant Thornton report available to us before the next stage of our deliberations on the legislation. I ask her to confirm to the House if she can make that happen.

If the Minister of State wants to pick five years, my understanding is that the best years for these people was between 2011 and 2016. Surely she should look at the best years. In the past two years, especially with the Covid pandemic, we have had many setbacks in all businesses, including coffee shops, pubs and agricultural machinery contracting businesses. These are particularly interesting years. If it is to be five years, let us have some flexibility and let us go for the maximum and the best. I do not want to keep repeating myself. They are business owners, entrepreneurs and risk-takers. We support people who take risks and people who are building community businesses and enterprises. I think ending mink farming was the right decision and I think the people involved also understand that.

I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine, as are many of my colleagues present. We have not seen the Grant Thornton report. If anything, we were somewhat remiss in not demanding it, but I am doing so today. After my engagement with these people today, I recognise the importance of seeing the Grant Thornton report. I thank the Minister of State for indicating that she will make it available. It would be helpful for everyone to understand when it will be made available. It would be fair and would be in line with transparency in the way we do our business.