If you build your own house-----

The Taoiseach is being very unfair.

For a house in one's own garden. The Taoiseach's son could be building a house in a rural area.

I emphasise the urgent need for continued and enhanced Government support for Ireland's tillage sector. It is vital to our agricultural landscape and is currently at a critical juncture, as the Minister knows well. Without strategic investment and targeted policies, its survival and development are at huge risk. The tillage sector is the backbone of sustainable farming in Ireland. It provides essential grain for food production, animal feed and the growing demand for renewable energy sources such as biofuels. Howev…

There must be economic stability for farmers in this sector. The cost of the inputs such as fertiliser, fuel and seed has skyrocketed, putting immense pressure on the tillage farmer. Financial support, including grants and price stabilisation mechanisms, is essential to prevent further farm closures and safeguard rural employment. Diversification and innovation are important. Government investment in research and innovation can help farmers to adopt new technologies, improve yields, explore alternative markets such…

I ask the Tánaiste to outline the progress of the Government trade forum. In a time of economic uncertainty, I believe the role of this forum is crucial in ensuring that Ireland remains competitive on the global stage. For sectors like agriculture, one of the cornerstones of our economy, trade policy can mean the difference between growth and decline.

Take, for example, dairy farmers, who produce some of the finest milk and cheese in this world. As export markets shift due to changing trade agreements and external tariffs, these farmers need clarity on the Government's efforts to secure stable routes for their high-quality produce. Also, beef farmers who have long relied on the international markets are facing new challenges in light of global price fluctuations and competition from non-EU producers. The Government trade forum must play a role in ensuring that f…

Will the Tánaiste outline the strategy that the Government trade forum will use in addressing the concerns of the agri-sector? What steps will it take to protect Ireland? I urge the Tánaiste to use the Government trade forum as a mechanism to ensure that not only Ireland's farmers and agri-businesses, but all small businesses in Ireland have the support they need.

I am asking for an extension of the community recognition fund in 2025. The community recognition fund was a major initiative designed to facilitate and support communities across the country that are hosting people from Ukraine and other countries around the world. The community recognition fund has been key to enhancing the social fabric of our communities, fostering inclusion and improving the quality of life for residents across Ireland. The initiatives supported by the community recognition fund have improved …

That is good news. I take it that the Minister is going to have the fund available in 2025. The aim is to complete and maintain community development initiatives and plan for future needs. The enhanced social cohesion measure was great for the community. The promotion of the health and well-being element was too. Numerous people and clubs have benefited from walking tracks. There has been a major benefit to the community. The empowerment of the local organisations that got involved was great for everybody. In my na…

All the work in County Laois is near completion and the next round is awaited anxiously. At least seven or eight groups would be disappointed if they thought they would not be included, and that is why I am asking for such an important fund to be extended into 2025. I support everything said about the local improvement schemes. They are most important to rural counties, and my county is a rural one, as the Minister knows. The Minister and Minister of State should both remember that the people who can benefit from l…

A Cheann Comhairle, because of what happened in the Dáil yesterday I was deprived of raising a question. Once only have I been allowed to speak in this Chamber, having been elected to represent Laois. I have never seen anything like it. I ask the Ceann Comhairle to make it good for those of us who were to ask questions yesterday. I think it is totally unfair and she has to change it.

I am the same as everybody else-----

-----democratically elected and I lost my opportunity. The Ceann Comhairle should make good of it.

It is a great honour for me to be here today and speak for the first time in this Chamber. As a representative for the people of Laois, I thank my constituents for their trust and my family, friends and supporters for their unwavering encouragement. I waited a long time to get here. I was first elected in 1979, the then youngest person ever elected to public life at 19 years of age. As an admirer of Nelson Mandela who said "A winner is a dreamer who never gives up", I am the dreamer. I never gave up and I am a winn…

I am delighted the Minister said everything will be voluntary from the farmers' point of view but he must accept where I am coming from as well. At that meeting where there were no farmers involved, it was announced that 80,000 ha of land were going to be rewetted. Whether we like it or not, a lot of soils throughout this country are peat-nature soils, so it will affect probably every county in the Twenty-six Counties of Ireland. Farmers need support, not mandates. They need incentives, not penalties. Above all, fa…

Could the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach imagine anyone in this building being told on a Wednesday that they would not be getting paid? That is what is happening to us in the farming community.

I support everything Deputy Carthy said.

I am not interrupting; I am just supporting Deputy Carthy.