Emergency Planning
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-14
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Robert O'Donoghue (LAB), Dublin Fingal West

I appreciate the Minister’s response in regard to horticulture, but I want to return to the reality facing many small farmers after Storm Éowyn. These people are on modest incomes, with nothing in reserve, yet they are central to food production and rural life. Many of them suffered genuine damage, including polytunnels torn apart and crops lost, yet they could not insure those structures, nor did they qualify for many State supports. They were effectively left to rebuild on their own despite being among the most vulnerable in the agriculture sector.
I am asking that future recovery and resilience planning explicitly include smaller family farms to ensure that when the next storm hits, they are not left behind. Can we have targeted supports for horticulture in particular and a dedicated mechanism that recognises and protects these vital small producers who keep our rural communities alive? I welcome what the Minister said in this regard. He is thinking along the same lines.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-10-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-14