At the present time, farmers feel very isolated, demonised and like the whole world is down on top of them. They have worries about herd reduction, cuts to their incomes and livelihoods and severe new restrictions and regulations coming down the line.

Is it by coincidence or design that prices quoted for fertiliser at present are double what they were last August? At a Teagasc presentation this morning, the consensus was that the availability of fertiliser next spring is in doubt. This scenario could lead to a fodder crisis and automatic herd reduction, which could break every farmer in the country. Will the Government ensure fertiliser is available after Christmas at a reasonable cost for the farmers of Ireland?

First, there is no coincidence and it is wrong to suggest there is.

I asked whether there was a coincidence; I did not state there is one.

The Deputy might at least let the Taoiseach start to answer before jumping down his neck.

The point is there is no connection between climate change plans and proposals and the current issue with the supply of fertiliser. That is a global issue and it is gas related. At the European Council meeting, a number of Prime Ministers referenced challenges in regard to fertiliser supplies in the coming months. Yes, it is going to be problematic and there are lots of supply chain issues manifesting. We know car manufacturing, for example, has taken a big hit because of the insufficient supply of chips. That is happening in the real world. Production targets have been pulled back. We saw Apple's announcement this morning in respect of some of its endeavours.

Thank you, Taoiseach.

There are very real issues in the global supply chain market at the moment and we are going to have to deal with them.

This is a very serious issue.

Yes, it is.