Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news that the new beef welfare scheme will be opened up by the Minister and the Government in July. This will be available to suckler farmers, which is good news and will be very important in terms of payments. I know the farming community for a number of years have been saying, in regard to efficiencies and being able to deal with costs, that they would want approximately €300 per cow in grant aid. If this works out, it could bring the funding to €240 per cow, which would be highly significant. From talking to farmers individually, I know they feel this could be a good scheme if it works out. The opening date should be announced shortly. I know the final details are being worked out and the opening date should be in July. It is another welcome development from the Minister and the Government.

The Minister and the Government have a very difficult job to do, as the Deputy Leader knows. They have to balance environmental issues with farming issues. The one message I want to send out today is that the farming community, particularly in my part of the country, are doing everything they can to be more efficient and more environmentally friendly. Any of us brought up on a farm does not need to be told this because we always had a great love of nature. That is very important.

I welcome the further funding from the Arts Council, through the Government, of course, through Creative Places. Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, which has been long neglected considering the number of migrants it has taken in without much support at all, is to share in a €1.7 million funding scheme with seven other towns. This will assist artists working with local businesses, community groups and individuals. It will be really good for the culture and the vibrancy of the area. It is a significant amount and there is a lot of other development going on in Ballaghaderreen and the wider area. It is very important that it is happening and I welcome that funding. After the summer, we might have a wider debate on the whole area of arts and how we could widen the scope of this even further.