Many of them have let us down. Rest assured, my heart is with each and every one of the farmers. I know what they are going through day and night and I will continue the fight against Mercosur.

I will take no dictation from Deputy Daly or Jennifer Whitmore calling me out because I was here at the start and I will be here at the finish.

What did you say? I am supporting the farmers against the Mercosur deal and I will stand firm on that.

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk again on this social welfare Bill and auto-enrolment. We are hoping that in a very short time, the means test for carers will be abolished altogether. As I understand it, if you are caring for someone with a disability you are actually living their life. That is what many loved ones are doing. They have no choice in the matter. They do not think about it; they just continue to do that. We must be fair and look after those people as they need it because as a Government and as…

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion before us this evening. Motoring costs affect every man, woman and child on the road. Kerry is a very diverse county with three peninsulas, and if you are going anywhere, it is a long journey. People cannot manage without a car because without one, they are marooned. I will start off with the challenges young people face with the cost of driving tests, lessons and all the rest of it. They are doing everything right and then they a…

All right.

I wish to discuss the recent cuts in the sheep welfare and beef welfare farm payments which have happened recently. I am very disappointed about this. The farmers I am talking about are seriously disappointed about it. They had asked prior to the budget that the amounts they were to receive would be increased. On budget day we were assured that there would not be an increase but that last year's payment levels would be maintained. I went back with that story to the people who had asked me. I was very disappointed w…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I know it is late at night. However, I am looking at my documents here and listening to her reading her documents and I make out that we are in two different worlds altogether and talking about two different things. The sheep farmers were expecting €13 and they are getting €11.50. The beef and calf farmers were expecting €75 and they are getting €67. The Minister of State has a different story altogether and she is talking about different times and different things, but …

I am glad to get the chance to talk about this serious and, for some people, emotive matter here this evening. I welcome the investment by Government in the ESB. It surely needs to improve when we see communities left without electricity for days and weeks in places such as Cordal, Brosna, Gneeveguilla, Glencar and Knocknagoshel earlier in the year because of a storm. I have to mention one aspect of that operation. I want to thank all the workers that put their lives in danger trying to restore the lines, day and n…

I welcome this debate. Something has to change. I wish all the candidates on the ballot paper the very best. Like a lot of others, I am of the view that the chance to run for President must be opened up to many more people. The current system is very confined and, as we have seen, it is determined by a few people as to who can run. The local authorities were to have an opportunity to endorse people but members were restricted by their party hierarchies to ensure they could not vote for Independent and other candida…

That is all right, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will not name names but many people feel a certain other lady should have had a chance to run. I regret, as others do, that certain people did not get a chance. The likes of the man I mentioned did so much to secure the Good Friday Agreement and for the well-being of our country. It is regrettable that he did not get a chance. He would have been a sound operator on the worldwide stage. We must do something different the next time. I know it is seven years away but we ne…

This is a very important debate. Men are slower to go to doctors than women, especially men on their own. I know that when men have wives and partners, they see after them and make them go. Men are tough and they persevere with pain, and they often let themselves go. I have known of too many cases where they waited too long, and they were at stage 4, where little could be done for them. I saw a man who eventually jumped out of his machine and sought help, but it was too late. He stayed at it too long. He was a grea…

I am glad to get an opportunity to talk on behalf of the fishing industry and coastal communities in general. When fishermen cannot make money, coastal communities are adversely affected. We have to give credit to the British going back to the 1600s. They built up the fishing industry in Ireland and gave the local people at the time the wherewithal to get the fishing industry going, which we carried on through thick and thin for many years. Since our accession to the EU, we have lost much of our fishing quotas to t…

I thank the Minister for being here this evening to hear our requests. We need to thank him for the money that has been allocated. People will say there is a budget every day but the budget is about being fair. I know that Government has tried to do its best and to be as fair as possible. There is a complaint out there in a lot of people's minds that the working-class people, workers with rising costs and everything, were maybe left behind a bit and we need to address the issues of housing. People who want to build…

I was in the North today. I travelled through four counties early in the morning. It is a grand place with grand people. Like Deputy Michael Collins, I thank the consultants and staff in Kingsbridge Private Hospital for the great care they have taken of all the patients we have sent up for cataract removals, hip and knee replacements and all the other things. They are very careful and have treated our people we have sent up with great respect. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I have been here for…

I am glad of the opportunity to contribute to this debate as well, as I have many times in the past. I cannot understand how this is going on for so long but I heard the Minister of State say the different things that hold it up. I hope it is full belt ahead to ensure the people of Donegal, Mayo, Clare and any other affected area get the redress scheme and their homes back in order, as they rightfully should have. It is great to see everyone uniting from Donegal, Mayo and Clare. A lot of time has been given to thes…

I am glad to speak about the grain and tillage section of our farming. Grain and tillage have been, are, and always have to be a vital part of our agricultural landscape. We met grain growers and they gave a very concise, interesting and serious presentation on the plight they face. They told us the number of farmers going out of the business and how many will go if something does not happen. It is not fair that they do not have a level playing field. If the grain coming in from Europe is not grown using the same c…

-----because we need the straw. All I will say to the Ceann Comhairle is that more than three hours and 32 minutes were given for the debate-----

-----and I still only got two minutes.

We do not want to lose any more, like we lost the sucklers and the sheep men.