Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I refute the remarks of my colleague, Senator Mullen, with regard to Fianna Fáil's attitude towards drugs. Nothing could be further from the truth. I presume he was referring to the part of our manifesto that mentioned decriminalising certain drugs for personal use. That is a health-led response to drug addiction and a far more compassionate way of dealing with a problem than the criminal route for those unfortunate people who find themselves addicted through no fault of their own. I refute the Senator's remarks.

I rise to raise the issue of planning exemptions for slurry storage on farms. In autumn 2024, the Government promised there would be an announcement on planning exemptions in January 2025 for farmers who wish to build additional slurry storage to help to improve water quality. The lack of sufficient storage on many farms is leading to problems in our water quality. Unfortunately, however, the allowance was never made. It is now June. Farmers who wish to build cannot do so. Some of them did not apply for planning permission because they were told there was going to be an exemption. If they had gone the route of applying for planning permission, they would now have received it and would be able to go ahead and build. An opportunity has been lost here. These are the months for building when the ground is dry, etc. I do not know about bringing in the Minister to talk about the issue, but perhaps the Leader would write to him and get an update as to when this announcement, which was promised last autumn, will be made.