I do not know of any farmer, business or individual who could take a 900% increase in rent. This really is an injustice. I met with the hill farmers in question, as did Deputy McGuinness. In fact, we were there a number of weeks ago when "Prime Time" was interviewing some of them. The sense of injustice that they have relates to the fact that their ancestors, their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, farmed that land for generations and that a British absentee landlord - a multibillionaire who owns thousands of acres of land in Waterford, Cork and elsewhere - is coming in and imposing a 900% increase. The farmers are outraged. They simply want to farm. That is all they want to do. They have no interest in getting involved in any disputes. The difficulty is that because of this stand-off with the so-called Duke of Devonshire, their farm payments are being withheld. That is really problematic. The Department has to be creative. I echo the call from Deputy McGuinness that the Minister, or the Minister of State, if he is in a position to do it, should meet with these hill farmers to try to find a way to get around this and support these farmers. There obviously has to be some arrangement made on the rents and the absentee landlord has to be made to see sense, but the Government also has to come to the table and make sure that these people get their farm payments. There is real anger out there. We saw what happened in the streets over the past number of weeks. When people see an injustice, they will respond to it. We are seeing it already. Deputy McGuinness and I are getting it in Waterford, where people are saying that this is wrong. People can see what is wrong. It is black and white. This is wrong. It should not be happening. These farmers should be just farming and doing what they want to do rather than having to talk to politicians, talk to the media, engage in protests simply to be able to secure their livelihoods. The injustice here is even bigger when we consider that it is a legacy of our colonial past. I ask the Minister of State to meet the hill farmers and for the Department to intervene.

Sentiment score: -0.13

There are sometimes cases where there is a grey area but I think this one is black and white. The people whom I have spoken to, including the hill farmers but also people in the wider west Waterford area and in Waterford city, are outraged that a British absentee landlord who goes by the name of the Duke of Devonshire, who owns tens of thousands of acres of land and is a billionaire as far as I can see, is imposing a rent increase of 900% on 16 hill farmers in the Knockmealdown Mountains who just want to farm. They say they are being driven off the land. What they have asked the Minister of State, through us, is for him to meet them to try to see if there is some resolution. That is a reasonable request. That would be a big step forward if the Minister of State were to agree to that. That, in turn, could put pressure on the landlord, because the landlord needs to move. I accept that. This is an issue that the landlord has to step up to the plate on as well. It is greed that is at the heart of this. I appeal to the Minister of State to meet these hill farmers.

Sentiment score: -0.03