Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I will be brief because the remainder of this evening's proceedings will be very much determined by the Minister of State's response and contribution. I will not pre-empt that. The majority of the money that has been invested by the three farmers involved was invested on the basis of specifications provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. They went to enormous expense to create the fantastic facilities they have, which have satisfied the Department's inspections. If the Department had such a major input in the spending of this money, I plead that it now be fair to these people in the unravelling and unwinding of their businesses and in compensating them for the enormous expense they went to in order to run such a good show. They continuously met with the Department's approval, but at enormous expense.

These individuals aside, we are continuously pumping money into rural Ireland to create jobs. Why not let the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine pump in money on this occasion to maintain the jobs that are already there? Why not give these people the seed capital to set up alternative enterprises, thereby maintaining the employment they already provide to their current employees? Why can we not do that now, at square one, rather than letting those jobs and businesses be lost to these remote rural areas before some other Department has to pump in money in six months' time to recreate the jobs that are already there? We need to avoid all that additional cost, time and pain. I will not say any more at this stage because I want to hear the Minister of State's address.