Danny Healy-Rae: Opposes Ban on Fox Hunting, Defends Farmers

Thank you very much. I'm glad to get the opportunity to talk on this very important matter here today but I can tell you all I will not be voting for a ban on fox hunting because and for a few people think that there's an urban rural divide, there's no such thing as an urban rural divide down the country. Maybe there's something inside the pale here that don't understand rural Ireland but in rural Ireland we have towns that depend on the farming community and depend on the sheep farmers and depend on the cattle farmers and indeed when we see everything else close down during the virus, the one thing that kept the country moving forward was the farming community and there's different things that are hurting the farmers continuously back over the years and foxes are those. I can remember my grandmother's time she used to have a few turkeys for Christmas that was her money when she'd sell them and some of her turkeys were taken for one Christmas and that meant some of her income that she was depending on wasn't there for her because the fox took away two of her turkeys that she was after feeding since July August. This is happening continuously. I know one good friend of mine, Andrew Nkilani, he had thirteen hens, seeing after them, minding them and feeding them and being very careful with him and he came home one evening and twelve of the hens were gone. And that's the gospel truth. Pat dropped the road, same story, he had ducks and he makes a few pounds from ducks at the fairs and stuff like that. He's constantly being taken out by the foxes. I had someone the other day even, there are two cats, there are two lovely cats were taken by the fox. And lambs, I'll just talk and I don't mind whether it is considered a financial interest or not, but it is an interest. My own son, Dan at one stage, had eighteen lambs taken this year in the spring time by the foxes. And whether it is hunters or whether it is shooters or whoever take out the fox, I appreciate them for that. Farmers appreciate them for that. And I can't understand why these people that are so concerned about the foxes are not concerned about the hens when they are torn alive. They are not concerned about the lambs when their heads are torn off and when their legs are gone and they are riddled, poor, defenceless little lambs. I don't know what reason people have got against those that never do any harm to anyone, only make a few pounds for the farmers that are struggling. And even their sheep payment has been reduced to small bit this year and we're hoping that we'll get it back again next year. And one of the things that the deputy that is bringing forward this bill said, the farmers are all right, they get grants. But they don't get a grant for the place that the lamb would have made and that's the gospel truth. They do not. And when you're answering this ministers, I want you to address that issue. They do not get a grant when the lamb is taken away or riddled or half eat and half left there. They get no grant for that. And I want you to withdraw that remark because he made it. And he said then that the cause of the foxes doing harm was development. So these same deputies don't want the development of houses, I can see. We know that they're objecting to them. And they're here then, by the way, for the good of the people. They are not. And it's very wrong to talk around that way because that's not the truth. And people need houses. But we do need farmers. We have many people now on the hillside sheep farming because they're not peeing. Sadly, they're not peeing. And many farmers have cut down the number of lambs or the number of yores that they keep because they haven't. They haven't. They were asked to traverse these massive hills and valleys and to keep and see after them and endorse them and all the costs that's with them. But they have cut down numbers. But they really need to have what they have and not to be taken by the fox. I think it's very wrong to be coming in here trying to hurt someone. My late father used to say, if you can't help someone, he said, please don't hurt them. And that's what I don't ever intend to do. I hope that I can make something better for someone. Every day I get up before I go to bed at night again. But I certainly wouldn't be trying to stop farmers of killing foxes because we know what the fox do. And it's the way they're psyche or whatever it is. They don't need all the lambs they kill because they leave some of them after them and tear them asunder. And I can't understand why these people that are intent to bring in this bill are so vehement about this and at the same time they have no concern at all for the poor lambs or the heen or the ducks or all those things that people work hard at it. And then to see them taken in a flash and when they come back they're gone. Indeed, there was two men, very lately, they went down the fields because the fox was after taking some of the heens. And then they come up, they met the fox down again with another heen in his mouth. That's the truth. Look, all I have to say, we must vote against this. I'm appealing to all the deputies from around the country that are depending on farmers for their votes. Now's your time to come out and stand with the farmers tonight and vote against this bill because it's not fair or it's not right. And I'm saying to those people on the other side that are trying to bring this forward, if you can't help someone, why are you trying to hurt them? And it's very wrong to do that to people. These poor farmers down the country and up the country and in the west side of the country, they are depending on lambs and to lesser extent the people are depending on hens to have their own eggs and they like to do that. And why are we trying to hurt them by bringing in a law or a bill here banning fox hunting? That's totally and absolutely wrong and you should be ashamed of yourselves to be even thinking it and talking about it and not to mind bringing in a bill here. It's a sad way our country has gone. And you know, we have a lot of important things to debate here inside. And we shouldn't have to debate this but seeing is that we have to debate it. We will debate it and we will vote against it tonight. And I'm assuring the people out there what I'm doing, I'll be voting against this fox hunting bill by Deputy Carpenter and whoever else is standing with her. Because it's not fair on rural Ireland and when I say rural Ireland I mean the towns and villages because those people depend on the farmers as well for their income. They all get a bit out of it and if the lamb goes down the field and the fox's mouth is torn alive and left for dead, no one will get anything out of them. And this thing about financial interest. You may think we were after, you know, betting on some stock exchange or something and that we were going to gain from it or something. It's such a ridiculous statement for a deputy to make saying we have financial interest. We have an interest in the well-being of the farmers around the country. We have an interest in the people that keep poultry and depend on them and put money into them. These things don't fall out of the sky and there are several other things. And it is very sad when we go into the field and we will see the yoke going around the field looking for a lamb. And bang and upset. You have no interest in that. How is that? And I can't understand that and appreciate that. Look, ministers, I'm appealing to you as the government, as part of the government to ensure that the government, the man and woman votes against this fox hunting bill tonight, as I will be doing. Thank you very much. Thank you, Deputy.