Last night in the agriculture committee, we had representation in from the Shannon Callows. We had Michael Smith, Liam Broderick and Pat Ryan and, basically, they set out for us what they are going through annually along the Shannon Callows with the flooding. I welcome the fact that the Minister has brought in a fodder scheme but they want to see the detail of that and they want to know if the Government can increase the number of hectares to 25 ha and allow for grazing that was lost as part of that compensation. Finally, we have an issue that compensation will not resolve, and that is the flooding. The reason we have that is that we have so many directives and rules and regulations and we are putting a new planning regime at the moment through legislation. I ask the Government to put a new definition on what is called an emergency. At the moment flooding is not an emergency because the flooding will go away, which is incredible.

I know this is something Deputy Canney raises with me and my Government colleagues regularly. I see the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, here this morning. She has been raising this with me persistently over the course of the past few months, as have my Government colleagues in Roscommon, Offaly and Westmeath. I have responded to that and taken on board the challenges that have been facing farmers because not only did we have the significant flooding earlier in the summer at a time when it was important in terms of making fodder, but it has been quite chronic since that as well and very unusual and acute in terms of the experience for those farmers. I have moved to put in place a scheme that particularly addresses the issue of fodder and facing the winter coming. It is a strong and balanced scheme and one which I think will provide the support that is needed to farmers. The wider point the Deputy makes about continuing weather events and the need to ensure we are more resilient in respect of the climate and how we farm and how we manage our land into the future is an important one, and that is something I will consider further, particularly as regards the Shannon Callows. I will liaise with the Deputy, Government colleagues and, particularly, farmers in the area on the challenges we will face in the time ahead.

On the same topic, the issue of calendar farming in this country is a nonsense. We have had such a wet year this year and now 1 December is fast approaching and we have a cutoff for the final derogation, I am told, for burning of scrub and bushes. Farmers have to maintain their hedgerows. The roads will be closed in if this cannot be done any more. They also have to have sensible burning on the mountains, as do very many gun clubs that manage their stocks. This derogation has to be extended because you cannot go into the land to cut the bushes, and where they are cut farmers cannot go in to remove them. In any case, when we stop the burning of them we will have to mulch them, which involves a bigger carbon footprint with fuel in the machines trying to get them out, mulching them and then moving on to chip. What the Government is proposing is a pure, patent nonsense. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is running riot in this Government and other Government Members are allowing him to do whatever he wants to do. This derogation has to be extended. You cannot go into the land at the moment. As I said, where the bushes are cut they cannot be removed and, anyway, the nonsense of trying to have them all shredded or made into mulch has a bigger impact on the carbon footprint and will have going forward. These nonsensical guidelines are ridiculous.

This is something I have engaged on to make sure we did have extra time and we get much longer than is available under the regulations to continue with this. I hear Deputy McGrath raise the calendar farming issue regularly. If we were to follow his approach, we would be spreading slurry in November and December.

That is not true.

It is, the way I hear it.

When the weather suits.

Let the Minister answer, please.

Exactly - when the weather suits.

That is disgraceful.

Let the Minister answer.

As I said, in November and December, if it is dry, Deputy McGrath thinks we should be out spreading slurry. That is what I hear from him all the time. I never hear Deputy McGrath advocate things which are sensible.

The Minister has sold out the farmers. He is a shame to Donegal.

Deputy McGrath has about 15 or 16 years behind him sitting there giving out about everything. He has not delivered a penny into a farmer's pocket and has not delivered very much for his constituency, so I will not take any lectures from him. We have to have proportionality and common sense, something-----

There are cheerleaders behind the Minister.

-----we in government are full of-----

Pathetic.

-----and something I rarely hear come from him on all the key issues.

The answer is "No" then.