Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to bring to the attention of the House the fact that Macra na Feirme will launch a major campaign about the representation of young farmers. It will leave from the area of Duke Street or Emily Square in Athy, which is a particularly nice town where Macra na Feirme was founded in the 1940s. This is just one of many groups within the agricultural sector that are frustrated and disillusioned by the political lack of priorities, as they see them, in regard to agriculture, particularly in regard to young farmers and young farming communities. Sometimes it seems that people outside Dublin do not realise we have farming communities in Fingal, in the Dublin Mountains in south Dublin and out along the hinterland of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.There are farming communities throughout this country. Macra na Feirme clearly said it is frustrated. It will be leading a walk, for many groups throughout the country, to the gates of Leinster House tomorrow at 1 p.m. I hope as many people as possible can get out there to meet and engage with them and listen to them on issues such as inheritance, taxation, agricultural training and apprenticeships, insurance and, of course, rural housing.

For the past two and a half years, we have heard from various Ministers, in parliamentary questions in the Dáil and in Commencement matters in this House, about rural housing guidelines. Many will be familiar with the Flemish Decree and the findings with regard to the Government and breaches of the decree. I call for a debate in this House on rural housing guidelines in order that we can support families - farmers' and landowners' sons and daughters who live in rural parts of this country - to stay, support and sustain their parents, families and communities and we can get on with building much-needed houses in the rural parts of this country. I ask we have a debate on that issue in the near future.