I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Senators today for what is a really important and timely discussion. The Government recognises the exceptional pressure that rising fuel costs is placing and has placed on our farmers, contractors and fishers in particular. I have heard it from friends, neighbours and in my ongoing engagements with all of our agrifood representative bodies in recent weeks, including the main farmer and farm contracting organisations with whom I engage regularly. Green diesel has almost…

I thank all of the Members who contributed to today's debate and put forward thought-provoking points and clearly articulated the experiences they have had in recent weeks. I have highlighted a number of questions they want answered, which I will go through. I reflect on some of the comments made about how Government engaged with the public and beyond that. The point about democracy was referenced in simple terms. I am a democrat, and I am proud of our democracy. I will fight to the death for people's right to have…

Did she? Okay. To be clear, €750 million is also another way of saying three quarters of a billion euro. For anybody to try to minimise that intervention and say that it is not enough, we would be getting into magic money tree territory if we were to say that we just need more and more. We have to manage that. I was just double-checking that was not a deliberate attempt to minimise what is on offer.

That is fair enough. I accept that. It is important to make that point. The clarity Senator McCormack referenced will be coming soon, but we have made huge progress in regard to the mechanics of how this operates. Senator Cosgrove painted a bleak picture of the challenges and the concerns that exist. In the context of the points she made - I do not have time to dwell on this but I would love to get into a longer debate on it - I bring to her attention the fact that we have interventions that support our more margin…

Like you did in the North?

I regret the decision of Michael Healy-Rae today. I acknowledge his role as Minister of State with responsibility for forestry and as a good colleague in the Department of agriculture over the past 15 months. As a sector, we in agriculture face plenty of challenges. It is my job to fight for and defend agriculture in the best interests of our farmers, fishers and agrifood sector and because of its importance to our overall economy, and in particular our rural economy. I do this in my Department and at Cabinet and w…

By supporting the agrifood sector and our hauliers and all those reliant on fuel who play a role in getting food from farm to fork, we support everyone.

We have a choice to make here. Those in opposition can attempt to either dismiss or ignore these supports and try to prevent their introduction or they can choose to engage with me and my Department on their roll-out to those who need them most. The choice is theirs.

I do note that the bully boys in the corner never said a word when I was speaking, unlike their interventions when my female ministerial colleagues were speaking.

It is 27.4 cent on a litre.

You are misleading people.

It works both ways.

In responding to the debate, I thank Deputies for raising the points they did. I will go through some of them. Deputy Doherty started off with a fascination with ordinary people. I am not sure who the extraordinary people are who he is not talking about. There are only ordinary people. They are all ordinary people. Somehow he has a monopoly on understanding what ordinary people have to go through and do not. He talked about standing in the farmers' kitchen and understanding how much pressure they were under and abo…

It was a pensioner who could not afford meat as part of her diet. The Deputy specifically mentioned food on a number of occasions. If we do not intervene with the support of our €100 million package for the agrifood sector, it will have a direct impact on the cost of inflation. Energy is the biggest driver of inflation. Food inflation will absolutely have an impact on workers, so telling workers that these measures will not help them is not true. The measures supporting farmers and our package to support hauliers w…

I am making the point. I am not attacking. I am making the point that the interventions the Government has brought in, and the packages beyond the excise measures we are voting on here, will directly support all people in their lives and will help to avoid the cost-of-living crisis that impacts on everyone. Things do not happen in isolation. Deputy Hearne talked about people not being able to cover the basics. It is the same point with where people are struck there. Deputy Tóibín talked about the inability to talk …

He might correct the record.

Deputy Collins talked about frustration. Yesterday on "Morning Ireland" he spoke to farmers at a volatile time. I absolutely accept how angry people have been and how many people have felt the challenge of the energy shock. After a volatile week when our country has been in a bad place, we all have responsibility. Everyone in this House has a mandate and was elected to help people. That is what we are here for. I do not question the mandate at all, but I do question why someone, after such a volatile weekend when a…

From that perspective, these interventions matter and that is why we oppose the amendment put forward by Sinn Féin.

I thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising this important matter. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for all policy and legislation in relation to the Control of Horses Act 1996. Operation of the Act comes under the remit of local authorities. Any report of welfare issues received by my Department, including breaches of the animal welfare legislation, is acted upon and investigated. Appropriate enforcement action where breaches or shortcomings are identified is undertaken by my Department a…

I thank the Deputy for his dedication to this topic. He has raised it on more than one occasion. I absolutely agree that this issue merits attention. From my perspective, there is no shortage of resources being put in from my side. I take on board the Deputy's points about co-ordination. I am happy to work with other stakeholders - the Deputy mentioned An Garda Síochána, the county council and the different entities - to ensure we have a targeted response in key areas. I agree that there are as many people who are …