The fact that so many within the Government parties have been silent on the issues of corruption in the past has given licence to it. All I am asking is whether the Taoiseach, accepting what happened in this potential case of corruption, thinks it is good enough that we have this system continue?

A Chathaoirligh, it is unbelievable that the Taoiseach will not answer a question on this.

Do you not think, a Chathaoirligh, that it is unfair for the Taoiseach to ignore this question and not give an answer, given the gravity of the question and the public interest in it and given the clear link between corruption in the history of the State and the distortion of society and unfairness?

Interest rates are at the highest level since 2019. By any reasonable projection we are going to see that spiral increase over the next while. The ECB has increased its lending rate six times since January 2022 and more increases are coming in the next week. Increasing the interest rate is a good tool commonly used to deal with inflation, and in fairness it often works in the case of demand-pull inflation. When there is too much money washing around the system chasing a limited supply, interest rates cool down that…

It is suffering significant population decline, predominantly concentrated in the west and midlands of Ireland. That continues apace. It is calculated that in the last 40 years, 800 electoral divisions have lost population or significantly lost population. There has been a lopsided spatial policy which has put hundreds of thousands of young people into the Dublin area, in particular. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures state that there is increasing income inequality between the western regions, the north-w…

I do not think the Minister is getting to the nub of the question at all. The issue is that the EU has downgraded the north-west region as a lagging region. The EU has said that as a result of falling GDP per capita in those areas compared with the rest of the country, places like Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Donegal, Monaghan and Mayo face increasing challenges. That is happening under the Minister's watch. GDP is falling in these areas, which is damning. The gap between the north and west region and the nat…

-----even though it accounts for 2.5% of the population.

While it might suit the narrative for our local constituents to be able to say that, the truth of the matter is every county should be getting a fair shot at it. Strangely, Dublin got investment for 63 rural hubs through Our Rural Future, even though the likes of Mayo and other counties get far less. That is a strange question as well.

-----always get the most money?

Everybody-----

Every Deputy is smiling at the fact-----

-----that the two Ministers get more money for their counties rather regularly.

I think he should be Minister now.

Why is he not a Minister any more?

I fought for it.

It is important that we inject some reality into this debate today. The Government's policy towards agriculture is one of managed decline. That is the truth.

Every year, there are more farmers leaving the farming sector than there were the year before. Only 5% of farmers are aged 35 or under. This is an incredibly small cohort of people. The Minister must know that there is an explosion of anger in rural Ireland about the approach of the Fianna Fáil-Green Party-Fine Gael Government towards agriculture. What is the Government doing to get more young people into the sector?

The farmer’s life cycle is dependent on the price of the product and the cost of producing it. That is the most important factor in this whole process. Every grant the Government gives does not make up for the fact that every year, farmers are getting less and less from the supply chain in farming. Most of the profit ends with the factory or supermarket. The Government is refusing to get involved in that element. I know that young farmers are voting with their feet and going to work in other countries such as Austr…

Fianna Fáil supported that Bill-----

-----in opposition.