Again, the Minister of State has to take this seriously. I have given him two financially factual elements of money being redirected by his Department. I will give him another one. Brexit Adjustment Reserve, BAR, funding was given by the European Union to mitigate the impacts of Brexit. It was for farmers and fishermen and fisherwomen across the country who have been decimated by Brexit and the policies of the Government with regards to rural and regional Ireland. The Government made an application for €150 million of that funding to be redirected to other uses. The use it focused on was the roll-out of climate measures.
BAR funding was designed to help people in agriculture who are in real difficulty, many of whom earn salaries lower than the average industrial wage. The Government created a system where money was not drawn down and then found another use for it which was not its initial desired use by the European Union. That is big money. It is factually true to call it ludicrous. To dismiss it dismisses the real needs of real farming communities around the country, which is not unusual in terms of the Green Party. I am sure the Acting Chairman would agree with me, if he had the chance.