Speaking on RTE Radio 1’s Countrywide programme this Saturday, Healy-Rae said he and his brother Danny – also an independent TD in Kerry – would resume talks with the two main political parties on the formation of a government next Tuesday.

“We’re continuing negotiations with them to see exactly what their views are going to be if they are to form a government and farming and rural issues are actually up on the agenda next Tuesday,” Michael Healy-Rae said. He listed farming, fishing, the LEADER programme, funding of post offices and broadband among the issues to be discussed next week.

He insisted that the new government should have “a senior minister for rural affairs – not rural development”, and reported that both Enda Kenny and Micheál Martin had answered yes to this request.

“That’s terribly important, because there was a great imbalance over the last number of years and I really feel that rural Ireland was left behind. I really think that the ministers and the outgoing government thought that the world stopped at the Red Cow roundabout,” Healy-Rae said.

It would be a very foolish politician who would rule themselves out of something without knowing what they were ruling themselves out of

Asked if he would take up the job himself, he replied: “If an opportunity was offered to me that made sense and that was a good thing for the people that I represent, it would be a very foolish politician who would rule themselves out of something without knowing what they were ruling themselves out of.”

Farm accident

Healy-Rae also gave more details about the farm accident that landed him in hospital last weekend.

While moving a freshly calved cow to a new pen, he said he came under attack from the animal, which was normally “a very quiet, placid cow”.

“She had me pinned into a corner,” he said. “When she had me down, she stood on every part of me.” He considered himself lucky to escape with only bruises and broken ribs after his son and neighbour rescued him: “As sure as night follows day, I would not be talking to you this morning if they weren’t there.”

I wouldn’t do something that I’d consider to be stupid, but at the same time I got caught

Healy-Rae said his experience highlighted the need to be extra cautious around newly calved cows. “I’d like to think that my head is on the right way around, that I wouldn’t take risks and that I wouldn’t do something that I’d consider to be stupid, but at the same time I got caught,” he said.

By sharing his story, he hoped to make more people aware of farm safety when going about their work. “If it helped some other person, maybe a young person, wouldn’t that be a good outcome?” he said. “There are great experts who give lectures on farm safety and they put ads in the papers, but if there are people who might have known of me or heard of me and thinks ‘Cripes, yeah, what happened to that fella!’ and if it put it in their head, it would be better than a front-page ad in the Farmers Journal.”