Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the week coming up to the budget, I call for the Leader to make representations on behalf of this House on the need for a strong agricultural budget. We need a budget that supports sustainable food production and the 150,000 farming families we have in the country. We must also put funding into creating that carbon balance sheet for every single farm, to ensure farmers know what they are emitting and what their land is sequestrating. It is important that farmers know what is on their balance sheet. We have the technology to do it. Devenish in County Meath has proved that it can be done, so why are we not providing the funding for farmers to be able to do it on a single farm basis? It is also being done in the North. If we can do it in the North, we can do it here in the South.

I also want to highlight a sector that has had no extra subsidy from the State, namely, the sheep sector. In advance of the budget I forewarn the Leader that if there is no extra funding given to the sheep sector, I would like a debate in the House on how we propose saving the sector. If the sheep industry is not supported in next week's budget, we will need a serious exit plan and supports. The sector will fail, and it will be on this Government.