Paraic Brady
Agricultural Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I wish to discuss a case that is ongoing all over social media where animals were euthanised on a farm in Roscommon and in County Clare last week. Forget about the rights and wrongs or who is right and who is wrong. The manner in which the animals were euthanised is where I see a problem.”
“It is probably the first time I can say all the work is done before we actually go home. With the weather, the turf is home, the hay is done the silage is made and the feet are up. We are surely going to enjoy the summer. I wish all the teams in the hurling and football the very best.”
“I welcome the Minister. I, too, support the countermotion. My colleagues have raised a number of issues but I would like to touch on the GAA's demographics report. It is about how we support those clubs in the countryside that are finding it hard to get players and the population to stay in that area.”
“He is working the land, but he also maybe has another job block-laying or whatever he is at locally. However, his family is reared there. He is buying his groceries in the local shop. He is spending all the money locally. He is probably doing a small bit of farming, drainage and whatever else. Everything is local.”
“I rise to address a concern that Councillor Michael Boyle raised yesterday in respect of Donegal. I compliment him on raising what will be a huge concern all over Ireland. It is that Irish Water has sent out notification that it intends to switch off water.”
“They can live without grass for a certain amount of time but we cannot switch water off for animals in this sort of weather. In this day and age, I cannot understand how Irish Water cannot provide a service. There are water-harvesting systems all over the world.”
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“This, on the streets, was a fuel protest, with farmers, hauliers, contractors and men on the buildings, the people who get up early in the morning. As Leo Varadkar said one time, we need to look after the man who gets up early in the morning. We need to go back to that concept. That is what we need to do because they came out on the streets. They would not come out on the streets of this country bar they were financially strapped. We need to listen, learn and move on. I am glad the Government held on today because we have €500 million of a package that these people need. We do not need any more upheaval and one thing or another. We need to move on. We are in a fuel crisis, which is what the protest was about. We need to deliver now for the people who are in hard times and I think we will as a Government. I am really passionate about this.”
“I also raised this issue earlier on the Order of Business. What have we learned from this whole debate that happened on the streets? What I take out of it is that we have farmers, businesspeople and hard-working individuals who have worked on the land. They have borrowed loads of money because we have invested in them to generate food. They have come across hard times. I will tell the Minister of State about a contractor. A contractor will bale silage this year and the farmer could owe him for last year's silage. That is how they operate. Where they are owed money from the year before, they will come and do this year's and get paid for last year's or maybe two years. Cash flow is one issue but farmers will always pay. Ninety nine out of 100 will always pay. Farmers are cash-strapped. I want to be quite clear.”
“There are lessons to be learned. We will learn the lessons because the people of this country have spoken. I have listened quite clearly to what has been said. There are lessons to be learned in this House and in this whole building. Going forward, we should certainly not be afraid to say what we mean. That is very important. I hope that the measures will ease the pain for all those people out there because farmers, contractors and small businesses have experienced it. As a Government, it is incumbent on us now to work together and deliver for the people of Ireland.”
“Today I would like to speak about the recent protests that we have seen in the capital. These people who were on the streets of Dublin are working class people - farmers, hauliers and contractors. They are people who stood with me in the past when I was in trouble. I would not like to see them labelled as anything else. As a member of Fine Gael, to be honest about this, I think we have got it wrong.”
“Before I finish, I would like to touch on another matter, namely price-gouging in the diesel sector. The price of diesel has risen by almost 12 cent over two days. This sends out a message that the people who are involved in the diesel sector are price-gouging. We can say it as it is. Somebody needs to call this out. We need the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to have an open discussion with the people who are doing this in order to bring the price back down. There is no need for what is happening at the moment. They are taking advantage of consumers, which they should not do.”
“I welcome the conclusion of the Bord Bia saga. In particular, I thank the IFA and all the farming organisations for the conclusion. I welcome the review that is taking place within the board. I congratulate all those involved in getting it to this stage. If it has done one thing, it is to strengthen our meat industry, food labelling and farmers' experience within the board. It highlights the concerns of the farming community. We now need to move on, strengthen the food we export and the labelling and get back to the trust the consumer and farmers have in Bord Bia. We have crossed the Rubicon in that regard. I welcome the review and the outcome. I thank Larry Murrin for stepping aside and letting the review take place. What he has done must be acknowledged.”
“However, trade between Northern Ireland and southern Ireland works both ways because the period when we have cattle shows is coming. Men in County Longford rang me last Tuesday to say that they had bought cattle in Northern Ireland before the outbreak occurred. They are sitting on holdings where they have paid a lot of money to show cattle, heifers and bullocks that have been tested. Is a derogation possibly needed between North and South? Might we have something in place if the Minister, Andrew Muir and the Minister, Deputy Heydon, meet? The Minister might update this House on that. As he knows, there is a soft Border. It would alleviate problems North and South if it was rectified. Losing our disease-free status is not the end of the world because it seems that our EU counterparts have relaxed the measures around bluetongue.”
“I welcome that the vaccine is freely available. Is the Department advising farmers to take up the vaccine and vaccinate all animals, including sheep and cattle, or is it only in areas where infection has been detected? I welcome that the Department is doing more testing at the moment and that is why we are seeing more cases. Is the advice from this House that everybody on the island of Ireland should take up the vaccine and protect their livelihood, or should it just be in the areas where we have seen outbreaks? I would like to throw a couple of curveballs at the Minister, unfortunately. I should probably have put them to him before we came in here. He mentioned a derogation among member states. We have a situation where cattle are not allowed to be freely traded between Northern Ireland and southern Ireland.”
“The Minister is welcome to the House once more. It seems that we have him in this House frequently to discuss agricultural issues. He correctly said that bluetongue has caused much stress and strain for the farming community, which is correct. Bluetongue is spread by the infection of a biting midge. Thankfully, Ireland, as he rightly said, was one of the last countries in the EU to lose its disease-free status, last year. I pay tribute to his Department for keeping it off the island because everybody knows the price of weanlings last year, how many cattle were exported to Europe, and how sought-after our weanlings were. That is thanks to the Department keeping it off this island. Unfortunately, it has come here. It was going to be here sooner or later. At least we had the winter months to prepare for it.”
“If we are serious about the safety of our kids and educating them well, that is where we start. We have been talking about all the technology we have in Ireland. I mentioned previously putting phone blockers in tractors so that anybody using a tractor is stopped from using a mobile phone. With technology now and car manufacturers, there is no reason there cannot be a phone blocker in every car manufactured from now on and it either comes through on the radio or another system. If we are looking at technology, it is something that should be discussed. It would be one way to alleviate phone use in cars because it has to come through on the radio.”
“Around the school in Drumlish only three weeks ago, a raised pedestrian crossing was fitted which acts as a crossing for kids coming and going from school from one side of the road to the other. It is raised so it slows down people using the road because they see it as a ramp. Driver behaviour will always be driver behaviour but this infrastructure has slowed down traffic around one school in the area. In a village out the road, Ballinamuck, a pathway has been provided that is 5 km long. When it comes to the national school, everybody has to cross the main road at their own peril. The road is 7 m or 8 m wide. Everybody who uses that pathway has to walk, look left and look right and take a chance. It is imperative that safety is a must around every school. We must look at raised pedestrian crossings and safety measures around every school.”
“He could not actually the use the footpaths because they narrowed in some spots and in other areas where he wanted to cross there was no low-level pedestrian crossing. From him coming to us as local councillors and us going to engineers, we have made a village that has seen huge progress in low-level access. I would like to see something like that rolled out in planning for active travel throughout the whole of Ireland. We need to think of wheelchair users in infrastructure. It is something we have missed over the past number of years. I thank James for advocating for people who use wheelchairs. He has highlighted it in Longford and throughout other counties. We have come on leaps and bounds. I know first hand that we have seen huge change. Concerning safety, we have to look at schools because of the volume of kids there at all times.”
“That is fair to everybody who is a road user. I welcome active travel. My village of Drumlish in County Longford has seen huge investment in active travel. I never realised, even though I was a councillor, that we had James Cawley Jnr, an activist for people in wheelchairs. I have lived in the village all my life and took it for granted that James Cawley Jnr. could go to the shop, come out of his house and go wherever he wanted. I took it for granted and so did everybody else who was local. Unfortunately, James said to me that for him to go to the local shop, he had to go out on the road at a break where people drive up their cars, drive up the road in his wheelchair and then go in at somebody else's gateway.”
“There has to be a training school where young people are assessed to see if there are capable of training to drive that tractor and the speed it does. There should be a mechanism, like in building sites, for a school whereby they are put up on a tractor or trailer, drive through and reverse around a set of cones and back into an area using their mirrors. If that is passable, they will receive a licence. Everybody should be assessed on their ability to drive a tractor. I am sure the manufacturers - Massey, John Deere, New Holland - will buy into this because it is in their vested interest that people are capable of driving these high-powered tractors. The evaluation should be left up to the instructor's know-how, and if they feel a person is fit to do this, they should receive their licence, and if not, they should continue their training.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I agree with the sentiments of everybody who has spoken tonight. The last time we spoke about this, we spoke about tractor users and a provisional licence being given to somebody at 18 or even younger. When contractors come and a workforce is needed at silage or slurry time, they are allowed to drive up to 250 HP tractors and in some cases even more. With weight-bearing trailers, the slurry tank or trailer will be eight to 12 tonnes and the load behind that will be another ten to 12 tonnes. Between the width of the tractor, trailer and the load behind it, there is 30 tonnes to 35 tonnes coming down the road in some cases. They are provisional licence holders. I am not blaming them for causing all the accidents.”
“It seems that the first dose of antibiotics treats it in most hospitals and the second course does not actually affect sepsis. It has flu-like symptoms, such as fever, nausea and a high temperature. I would like an update from the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and something from the World Health Organization and maybe even our EU counterparts. It seems France has led the way in seeing this as problematic, as has the Netherlands, but any other EU country has not touched on it yet. I would like the Minister to address the House and give us an update on Ireland's stance on this as we go into the Presidency. Maybe it is something Ireland could lead on in the European Union.”
“Today I rise to address a deeply worrying matter. We have all heard of the Covid pandemic but unfortunately, in the last number of years, we hear of sepsis being diagnosed in hospitals all over Ireland and all over the world. It is not just an Irish problem but a world issue. To give some figures, 20 million people died of sepsis worldwide last year. For anyone who does not understand sepsis, it is failure of all the organs at the one time. We have seen that the pharmaceutical industry has not put resources into finding a cure, medicine or vaccine for this. In most cases, as I learned this morning, early intervention and detection means that sepsis can be cured at a very early stage, but for every hour people lose, they lose 7% of their fight. I would like to clarify a few things. In most cases, an antibiotic cures sepsis.”
“Even though we have seen increases in the number of gardaí on the streets in both the daytime and night-time, we still do not have enough coverage in the county to cover all the activities going on. The Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, and several other entities have investigated what has been going on in our county town. After the highlighting of what has gone on this weekend, and to give our citizens a bit of belief that they are protected, I urge the Minister to engage with the superintendent and perhaps even visit Longford to address and highlight some of the issues that are there.”
“A couple of issues have arisen in the county town of Longford over recent weeks. A person in their 30s and a person in their 20s have been stabbed, which is shocking. One of them was stabbed and dumped outside our local Garda station. Everybody locally knows that it is feuding among families and it is drug related. In fairness, County Longford had two Garda superintendents at one time. We had one in Granard, our second largest town, and one in Longford town. Unfortunately, we have one superintendent there now and, in fairness to him, he is after coming into a position that has been very tricky. His engagement locally has been wonderful, but our Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, certainly needs to visit the station in Longford and listen to the concerns. We are lacking in numbers.”
“I hope that, tomorrow, she apologises in the Lower House to the country people of Ireland for what she said. They are not cowboys. These people get up in the morning and put food on people's tables. I want that acknowledged tomorrow.”
“In fact, I have had the five organisations in the audiovisual room to provide an informative session regarding all of the aspects of hunting, the hunting Bill and the welfare Act. What are the dangers to the wider community if foxes, which are predators, are not controlled? I refer to the number of foxes being allowed to go out of control in both urban and rural areas. Let us be quite clear. I am from a rural background but I have good friends living in cities and towns who accept that they do not understand the country way of life. For once, people are beginning to see that this is not a pet, but a pest. Deputy Ruth Coppinger's comments this morning on “The Joe Finnegan Show” in which she branded farmers and hunts people as "cowboys" leave a very sad taste in rural people's mouths.”
“I rise today to discuss the fox hunting Bill that will be before the Lower House tomorrow. As everyone knows, I have spoken on this in the past. I have received numerous emails from people claiming I misinformed this House when I spoke on the matter in the past. I said that, with an explosion in fox numbers, we might see a child or even an adult being attacked some day. Unfortunately, last week, a woman in County Cavan was attacked by a fox and received five stitches or staples to the back of her head. There was another incident in Sixmilebridge last week in which gardaí had to be called to an estate where kids were playing because a rogue fox attacked a child’s dog. The Bill is coming in front of the Lower House tomorrow and I have read into it.”
“I was a member of the AILG when I was a councillor, and one of the concerns that came up was that a lot of councillors did not have health insurance. With more than 900 members, there should be some health insurance policy available. There is no mechanism to deal with the situation when councillors are sick and not fit to do their duties due to treatments or whatever it may be. That is one of the key issues.”
“On a point of clarity, the former Minister, Mr. Hogan, was not a Minister in 2008 and 2009, as Senator Andrews alluded to. I would like the record to be corrected. I remind Senator Andrews that he himself was a Fianna Fáil TD in government at that time.”
“Today, I rise to remember the late, great Paddy Cooney. He was a Member of this House and a member of Government for a number of years. I grew up with my grandmother and father who had great time for and empathy with the late Paddy Cooney. He was a fierce worker, and so it was when he put his name on the ballot paper. He always seemed to get elected in the Longford-Westmeath area. He was a man with a fierce integrity and dignity and I suppose that shone through in his ministerial roles. He held a number of roles in Cabinet. He served as a Senator and an MEP. He worked tirelessly for the constituency of Longford-Westmeath and he served as Minister for Justice when we saw a lot of troubled times in this country. He made decisions at those times that were very tough to make but he was man enough to make them.”
“At least, we can microchip them and register the microchips to the new owners so that when damage is done, we know both the dog that has done the damage, once it is lifted, and the owner of that dog. It is very important that this is tightened up because, as I said, we are entering the spring lambing season and we will see huge amounts of damage done to sheep again and again without anyone taking responsibility.”
“I am calling for us to scrutinise the legislation for this and look at tightening up the whole legislation about dog worrying and dog owners. When Covid hit, everybody felt it was a good idea to get a pet. We have seen the number of pets in Ireland rise by over 50%. We are now seeing a problem where some people have these pets that are not microchipped and are roaming free. Some dog owners do not even know where their dogs are at night-time, whether they are in the back yard or roaming free and worrying sheep. By law, every dog owner must microchip their dog. The dog must have a microchip. For any dog that goes to a vet and does not have a microchip, it is compulsory that the vet must put a microchip in it. We need to tighten up the laws. Any dog that is left into a pound must get a microchip before it is handed out to a new owner.”
“I wish to raise an issue regarding dog attacks on livestock. This week, we saw dog attacks on livestock have surged to a six-year high. We are now coming into lambing season once more. We have seen that half the dogs that are impounded have no microchips. The system that is there at this moment in time is actually broken. There are fines from €100 to €300 for anybody caught by a dog warden who has a dog off a leash or one that is worrying sheep. Two thirds of these fines were not paid in 2024. It is alarming to see that even when a dog warden catches somebody who has a dog off a leash that is doing damage or worrying sheep or livestock and the warden then issues a fine of €300, the local authorities are still unable to collect these fines.”
“There is a fear among those who have built up connections with families, friends, villages and communities in Lebanon that we are leaving them with worst times to come. I welcome home our troops for Christmas. It is very important that we stay connected through peacekeeping missions throughout the world. If the missions send out a message, it is that we are a nation of peace and we deploy our troops in areas where they are needed.”
“I welcome home our peacekeepers. Members of the 126th Infantry Battalion returned following a six-month deployment with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. They were greeted, in emotional scenes, at the airport. It is wonderful to be able to say all our troops returned home safe and sound after a traumatic time for the past six months. As everybody knows, UNIFIL is to wind down at the end of 2026. The Lebanon area has had a huge connection with Irish troops over the past 40 years. I hope that when the wind-down happens, the people of Lebanon will not be left to their own defences. Everybody knows what has happened there over the past six months. Grenades have been launched at, and attacks have occurred very close to, peacekeeping centres. It is feared that we are leaving Lebanon at a time when we should be staying.”
“We used to visit the tracks in Mullingar, Longford and Shelbourne. The first time I ever won money was on that dog, Coolamber Tank. Robbie used to always arrive and would say to my father, Lord have mercy on him, that he did not think the dog had a hope that day. Robbie would always give me a fiver and tell me to put it on his dog. Funnily enough, Robbie's dog always came in when he told you to put something on it. It was a great time, and it still is a great time and evening out. I hope that people continue to support the industry, not only the horse racing industry, but the greyhound one, too. It is very important that you go to the track and enjoy the social aspect that is involved at all of the greyhound tracks and horse tracks around the country. I thank the Minister and am glad to support this Bill.”
“It was difficult for people in the south of the country to travel the whole way to Dundalk for racing on an all-weather track. The Minister's investment in that part of the country - let us hope we see more investment in all-weather tracks - will alleviate the dangers of running on wetter ground. Everybody knows the safety aspect of all-weather tracks. I will support the funding here today and I hope all my colleagues will also because it is an industry that is very important to our economy and to keeping our rural villages, towns and areas alive. After losing the one in Longford, I know first hand what it means not to have a track in our area. It would be remiss of me not to mention the late Robbie Mulleady in County Longford. He had a dog called Coolamber Tank when I was growing up.”
“As the Minister indicated, funding has to be put in place to support the horse racing industry. We have seen what Willie Mullins did in the Breeders' Cup. We have seen what our thoroughbreds are fit to do when they go to Australia and elsewhere. The passion for an Irish horse to go abroad and win some of these events just shows how strong the industry is here. The positive effect that has on the Exchequer amounts to €550 million foreign direct investment in Ireland each year. That is huge in the context of this sector. The races at Punchestown and Listowel are the big meetings, but the small meetings are also significant. I welcome the Minister's announcement last week regarding the all-weather track. Everybody knows the only all-weather track we had up to that point was in Dundalk.”
“The number of new owners, which is critical, in the first six months of this year was 526. These are new owners who have made an investment in the greyhound industry. Total attendance at the greyhound tracks in the first six months of the year was almost 157,000. The number of people employed was 539. We can see the number of people employed and the economic benefits involved. Samples taken to assess welfare issues in the industry totalled 3,827. This shows that the Department has stringent rules already regarding the industry and samples taken. The number of passed samples, which is important, was 99.33%. Less than 1% were found to have failed the standards. There are standards in place for both the horse racing industry and greyhound industry.”
“Unfortunately, our greyhound track in Longford closed. We have seen the detrimental effect that had on the local economy. Visitors came to our town from far and wide and there was a significant economic benefit to the people locally and to shops and pubs. Unfortunately, when the track closed, the people of Longford experienced the economic effect it had. It is only when it was gone that they really and truly missed it. I have a couple of statistics regarding greyhound racing. During the first half of this year, 692 fixtures were hale. Some 7,201 races were run at these events. There were 42,628 total entries. Total prize money was €4.356 million. Some 5,729 greyhounds out of a total of almost 7,000 that raced received prize money. The number of active owners was 3,737. There were 295 trainers involved.”
“The Minister is once again welcome to the House for this debate on funding for horse and greyhound racing. As he rightly stated, both sectors are an important part of the economies, culture and heritage of our rural communities. We have all seen what horse racing has done for rural Ireland. In the town of Roscommon, for example, when a race meeting takes place, the activity it brings has an economic effect not only locally but through the wider county. People get dressed up, schools have reunions, there are hen and stag parties and people visit. It is a social event, but there is also, as the Minister stated, a knock-on effect in terms of support for the industry. Without support, you would be in danger of losing the economic benefits to the area. I, too, visit racecourses and I attend the greyhound racing in Mullingar.”
“I would urge our Ministers and MEPs to argue, in the context of the Mercosur deal, that we must have the same traceability standards and stringent rules that apply to food production in all European countries, and especially in Ireland, where we have microchipping, genomics and tagging systems. These rules apply from farm to fork here but now we see that there is a trade deal on the table that will allow beef that can be injected at any stage with an antibiotic that can be bought across the counter, which is very worrying. It is worrying because that beef might actually be on the shelf in Europe at some stage. This is an issue that must be kept on the agenda.”
“It would be remiss of me not to wish Senator Wilson a happy 80th birthday. He is looking very well for the times. Today, I rise in response to an article that appeared in the Irish Farmers' Journal this week. To be quite clear, I am not against trade deals. Journalists from the Irish Farmers' Journal went to Brazil, undercover, and visited a lot of towns and villages. They uncovered widespread illegal access to across-the-counter antibiotics. For anyone who does not understand, antibiotics have to be on prescription only in EU countries. To discover that antibiotics are widely available over the counter in the same way as sweets and cigarettes is worrying, especially when we are dealing with food and the food chain. This must call into question the Mercosur trade deal.”
“I have seen people on e-scooters weave between middle, outside and inside lanes and we need discussion in this House in that regard.”
“He has been very approachable and he took the time to sit down and have a chat, which I found remarkable. I have always looked up to him from his time as Minister for Finance when we went through tough times on the buildings, and I was one of those workers who went through it, and we saw what he did for this country at that time. I wish him and his family well in his new move. Finally, last week Councillor Danny Byrne at his council's meeting raised the issue of e-scooters. I do think we need a debate on e-scooters in this House. I have travelled in and out of Dublin on a number of occasions and witnessed the disrespect that some of the riders of e-scooters show for traffic is remarkable. Unfortunately, we will see a few deaths on the roads if legislation is not brought in regarding the speed limit for scooters and where they can travel.”
“I, too, would like to be associated with all the good remarks said about the Irish soccer team. I grew up in the Jack Charlton era and recall early mornings and late night socialising and celebrations. I recall the buzz that was around the Irish team and especially how their efforts brought together communities, a country and a nation. The Irish team also brought our diaspora across the water together because everywhere we went everybody loved the Irish. We grew, as a nation, through sport. I wish the Irish teams - management and players - success in everything they do in the future. Let us hope that we will see America again to compete in the World Cup. It would be remiss of me to not personally thank the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe. Since I was elected, Paschal Donohoe took all the newbie Senators under his wing.”
“Thankfully it is something you get to live with with the family, but unfortunately we could have and maybe should have seen it coming and done something about it. Anything we can do, if it is only to save one child, that limb or whatever it is, I would welcome it. The Bill Senator Daly put forward a number of years ago and is working on needs to be looked at. I commend him on that.”
“When it comes to farm safety, there are certain parts of farm safety. I commend Senator Paul Daly on bringing a Bill forward a number of years ago regarding farm safety. That Bill certainly needs to be looked at again and tweaked. If we can save one life, that is a life that does not wreck a family or home and keeps a farm together. When a life is lost on a farm, the farm tends to diminish in every way and tends not to function as a family farm. I certainly saw that at first hand a number of years ago. I happened to come upon an accident where we lost a dear friend back in 2016. I was the first on the scene. To this day, you do not recover from it - every day I get up out of bed I do not recover from it. Every time I visit the site, unfortunately, that memory will always be there.”
“It would be remiss of me not to mention it today in this House for the work that he and his family have done regarding farm safety and in helping to support people who have lost loved ones in farm accidents. What he has done for safety in the farm community is certainly worthwhile. He is dealing with bereavement, loss of life and loss of limbs. It is worthwhile to mention. His website is embracefarm.com and I would hope that people would use the service that is there. As we know, farm safety is one of the key areas for the workforce that works on farms every day, especially in the summertime when there is a rush and how accidents do happen and can happen. It is like everything else. We have road safety. We have seen the implications that came regarding speed in towns and villages and one thing or another.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. Today I would like to raise a couple of issues regarding farm safety. I also welcome the extension to the new PTO shaft cover scheme of two weeks. The two weeks are very welcome. As everybody knows, a lot of farm accidents have occurred with uncovered shafts in the last number of years. Farmers have bought into it. I see the worth in extending that. I urge farmers out there to have a look at the shafts regarding PTO driven machinery. If it is in a state of disrepair, please use the scheme that is there to replace the covers on these shafts. Brian Rohan is from Mountrath, County Laois. He lost his father Liam in 2012. Liam suffered a serious blow to the head while working farm machinery. Brian and his wife Norma set up Embrace FARM, a support for farm families.”
“My colleague has raised the following issue, so I will not rehash it, but the NARGC has expressed concerns regarding the recent confirmation that a review of the MOU is being initiated. This has caused some concerns among its members, and the council hopes the Minister of State will address this, maybe even today, and that it would be back at the table when it comes to any decisions begin made. I thank the Minister of State for his time and for taking the opportunity to come to this House. It is an issue that is close to all of our hearts.”
“It was particularly evident in the launch of the mink eradication programme, and it would be remiss of me not to mention the breeding wader initiative also, which was launched by our colleague in this House, Senator Noonan, when he was Minister of State. Senator Flaherty and Senator Lynch have also raised this matter. I also welcome the Minister of State's support for establishing a countryside forum for nature and a long-standing proposal of the NARGC to provide a structured space for open dialogue among all countryside stakeholders. Such a forum can play a vital role in addressing shared challenges in conservation, wildlife management and rural sustainability in a collaborative way. It is very important we engage with all stakeholders in a collaborative way to protect a sustainable environment.”
“I, too, declare that I am a member of the NARGC and have been for a number of years. I was nominated by it to stand for election to this House. Members of the House will be aware the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the National Regional Game Councils of Ireland agreed a memorandum of understanding, MOU, providing a clear and positive framework for collaboration, communication and shared objectives in the protection and management of Ireland's natural heritage. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, for his leadership and engagement in supporting this agreement and for the constructive relationship he has forged with the NARGC from the outset in the signing of the MOU and subsequent correspondence.”
“Farmers are indebted to our gun clubs that control vermin, which includes foxes. They are not pets. They are vermin. They hunt for their young. People say it is a part of nature. It is, of course, but nature is unbalanced and the number of foxes is out of control. We will see it in this urban area shortly as fox numbers increase in the urban area of Dublin. Only then, when perhaps a child is taken out of a pram or a child is injured, will people understand what this is. This is not a sport. This is farmers protecting their livelihoods and what is theirs. We are not gentry and I do not like to be portrayed as gentry. It is not done as a sport. It is done to control a predator that affects our living. That is the message that needs to be sold. I do not like the portrayal of the people of the country as gentry. That is far from what we are.”
“I wish to set the record straight regarding rural pursuits and fox hunting. I have watched a number of debates over the last number of weeks and I have listened to media reports of foxes in fields being torn apart. We have listened to all this negativity in the media regarding fox hunting, which is described as a sport. It is not a sport and it is not done as a sport. The media has portrayed it as a sport. It is not just for the gentry. I hunt. I shoot. I am not gentry. I am a farmer. Foxes can get out of control and there is no predator for foxes other than humans and the odd car going down the road. When foxes are out of control in this country and the numbers are high, we see the loss of lambs, fowl and livestock. When you have loss of fowl, lambs and livestock, you have loss of profits.”