Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for missing my earlier speaking slot, but I was at a committee meeting.

Everyone recognises the challenging weather we have had, not just this spring, but over the past eight or nine months of rain, particularly in our part of the world in the north west. I was on a farmyard with a farmer the other evening in Cloone, County Leitrim and he had just four bales of silage left, with the slatted house overflowing with cattle. He said that, even though the sun was shining, they would go to their knees if he let them out into the field because it was so wet. This is the case for many farmers in areas where there is marginal or poorer land with poor drainage. They feel like they need some assistance in this regard. Providing something to help with the transportation of fodder was mentioned, but what farmers really need is a subsidy to help them to buy some grain and meal. If something like that could be put in place, it would be the quickest and most effective way of resolving the problem. We hope that the weather remains good. If we get another five or six weeks of decent weather, we will be out of this situation. Everyone recognises that.

Most crops would usually be planted by this time of year. While that is not much of an issue in my constituency, the impact on the tillage sector will certainly affect us. If the tillage farmer does not plant grain and get feed in, we will not have feed for our cattle next winter. This is a problem across the country. We need to recognise that if we do not intervene early, the situation coming down the road will get worse.

The general problems in the farming sector date back a long time. Farmers are despondent and disappointed. They find applying for and dealing with many of these schemes difficult. I will cite an example.

TAMS 3 has been up and running for the past 12 months, as the Minister will be aware. Under the health and safety measure relating to it, farmers can buy mobile handling equipment such as mobile crushes or pennings. Farmers purchase the equipment before they get a percentage reimbursement from the Department. In order to qualify for the scheme, they must complete a health and safety course which they have to pay for themselves. That is one of the issues. When they make their claim, they have to show the invoice for the equipment marked paid, a certificate of completion for the health and safety course, a tax clearance certificate and, finally, a photograph of the equipment purchased. The Department currently does not have the ability to accept digital photographs. As a result, it cannot process claims from farmers. That is an example of the issues that arise. If regulations and conditions are to be put in place in order for farmers to draw down grants, we need to make sure that the Department has its side of the fence worked out as well and that it is able to deal with applications.

The issue with agriculture is, as we are all aware, that it is always trying to play catch-up. Certainly, the inclement weather we have had for the past number of months has not helped. However, there is so much that could be done by the Department to make it easier for farmers to comply with grants for farmers to work and they want to do this it. They want to do this. They want to do a better job if they can but they need the support of a Minister for agriculture who is on their side.

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