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farmers and contractors I met this week feel it is not enough and they certainly were not happy with the budget. They pointed out that as we hold the Presidency of the EU we really need to be very forceful in negotiations, which I hope we will … which is a real threat for the future in Ireland. Ireland's traditional family farm has been there for about 130 years, and agriculture in Ireland goes back 6,000 years. It is facing an existential threat. This is what many people feel. Three million have left

horticulture sector, as I have outlined. This fuel support scheme will provide supports equivalent to 20 cent per litre to farmers and contractors to offset increased costs in marked gas oil. Payments will be made through a single application process with funding allocated based on green diesel usage … within the framework of the Middle East crisis state aid framework and within the total budget of €100 million that I secured for agriculture and fisheries supports in April

tillage sector is an integral part of Irish farming and makes a significant contribution to overall agricultural output, no more so than in Carlow-Kilkenny, which the Deputy represents. The Government recognises the importance of the sector and the challenges it has faced this year and in recent … sudden increase in the cost of marked gas oil, MGO, the Government allocated additional finance to provide meaningful income support for farmers, contractors and fishers. I also made the decision this year in a very constrained budget scenario to meet the additional asks under straw incorporation because

they communications cables or ESB cables. That is what caused the problem everywhere and we have got to address it. A lot of contractors helped. A lot of farmers will need hedge cutting and other such jobs to be done. For those people, the Minister must consider extending … house. Outside of that, however, we have turf. There is another issue that some Minister needs to address, namely, the targeted agriculture modernisation schemes, TAMS. While I welcome the Minister, Deputy Heydon's announcement on the generators, TAMS are not going to work for sheds that have lost

peak, 768,000 homes, businesses and farms had no electricity. I commend all the crews - more than 3,000 ESB Network contractors and colleagues who assisted from Britain and the EU were out there to restore power to our citizens. I acknowledge this was incredibly difficult … issues regarding forestry, I engaged directly with the Minister, Deputy Heydon. We met just last night along with officials from the Department of agriculture, my Department and ESB Networks around tree corridors and how we can advance a programme in that regard. I assure Deputies that we will

Where is the farmer going to get more money out of? Where are they going to get all this money to pay this contractor? What has been done is ill-thought out. I welcome the bits that are good, but my God, on the green diesel, does … Department of Finance are in but this will cripple the housing industry alone and it will put damnable pressure on the whole agricultural sector. The Minister and the Minister of State know that because they are from rural Ireland

direct and immediate cost and price spikes feed straight into cashflow threatening viability, particularly for small operators with limited margins. The agriculture and agrifood sector faces double exposure, with fuel and fertiliser costs along with transport and processing pressures. These costs hit hardest during peak seasonal activities … million per month over the next three months. We have also introduced a €100 million fuel subsidy support scheme to assist farmers, contractors and fishers during peak fuel-use months. At the same time, the Government is looking at the structural costs to reduce further exposure altogether. This

million is still there. The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation gave it to the Department of agriculture. I see €31 million is being allocated today for a second round of that scheme, which is welcome, but let us be honest with people that … frameworks. What "frameworks" means is where pipes have burst and have to be replaced or where there are leaks. There are contractors, from what I am hearing, who have already told Irish Water that the cost of the pipe they put into the ground has gone

slurry storage are all certainly welcome. However, there has been a notable emphasis on extensions rather than on transformative investment into the agriculture sector. There is also a strong suggestion that these measures inadequately address succession planning and the active farmer test extension to donors deters non-farming … Brendan's Community School in Birr. It had its works approved in 2018 and there is neither sight nor sound of a contractor. It needs to change. We need urgent action and I call on the Minister to ensure that she takes action for St. Brendan's Community

flag for Ireland. I passionately believe in that. It is a terrible important job of work to do. With regard to agriculture, forestry and horticulture, things have been quite literally turned upside down. We have many thousands of hectares of forestry that are knocked at the moment … account for something in the region of 56.5% of those 435 forests. They have permission from my Department to go in tomorrow with contractors and extract that timber. While 435 is not the total number, it is representative. If that follows through to the rest of the forests

people to fill the posts. This is becoming a major problem. As I have said, we also have to look at agriculture, our primary industry, which was played to today. The IFA leader, Francie Gorman, has welcomed the budget but he is concerned about the overall allocation … area. We also need - I know it is mentioned in the budget and I welcome it - the fuel excise rebate. Construction workers and contractors were not included and are still not included. It has been mentioned that they will be but when will this happen? Some will miss

logjam that should not be there. Across the years, arrears now exceed 90,000 applications. This backlog has seriously delayed property transactions, agricultural transfers, conveyancing and housing delivery and has had a direct impact on market efficiency across Ireland. It is also damaging our reputation in respect … emotional distress and severe disruption to their lives. They have been left waiting almost six months for a basic communication from Statkraft's contractors. It is not good enough. There should be respect given where, if there are health issues and concerns, then immediately a wind farm should

done a driving lesson. It makes no sense. I have an agricultural background. People know I live on a farm. The tradition in agriculture is that many people go in straightaway at the age of 16, not 17, to get their learner's permit to enable them … ends up in a big political row. The reason this would help is that it would give certainty to the contractors working on road projects. If they are able to plan for 12 months, 18 months, two years or three years, they can do these projects much faster

their houses. I compliment the ESB on the amount of work it has done. The sickening fact is that I talked to a contractor who was bringing poling lorries from England. These lorries came to Holyhead but were not able to get on to the boat because … will be calving soon where the cowshed is gone. This is where we need action. There is a generator grant through the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, but it needs to be for the normal generator. We need to get water infrastructure, schools, crèches and all of that

road fixing things at the moment, someone needs to hold it to account. If I am supplying a service to someone as a contractor, I have to supply it. The phone companies are sending bills to people. What about the people who have an alarm around their neck … These are little things. If a group worked together from different perspectives, be they telecoms, the ESB, the Department of agriculture for the farmers' side of it, doctors from the medical side of it and communities, which are at the heart of it all, to bring up ideas

also came across very strongly to me during the protests was that even people who did not understand the pressures on hauliers or contractors supported the protests because they are also experiencing cost pressures in their own lives. They could empathise because they find themselves in similar circumstances … difference in people’s homes. Along with highlighting our energy insecurity, this crisis has highlighted growing vulnerability regarding our food security. Our agriculture sector is deeply exposed to global markets, particularly for fertiliser, fuel and animal feed. We saw this following the invasion of Ukraine, when fertiliser prices