Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's answer is, to an extent, an admission that farming, in comparison with other income streams, is falling. He said that because the income in farming is now lower than in much of the rest of the economy, people are getting out of farming. Why is income lower in farming? Why do we have a food sector that is phenomenally profitable but where the profit lands in the factory and supermarket and not in the farms? It is because the structure of the market is an oligopoly, which has been allowed to happen by the lack of competitive protections from the Government. That is the main element. Cost and regulation increases are affecting farmers radically. It is not worth it for farmers to remain in the sector, and that is the bottom line.

The Government creates many schemes, which is like welfare for the managed decline of farming. Farmers would rather not have to have all these schemes. They would rather be able to make a decent income from the factories and supermarkets for their products. I urge the Government to focus. How do we ensure farmers are properly paid for all their produce? How do we ensure the factories and supermarkets are not making enormous profits and paying taxes in, for example, Luxembourg. Why do we allow that system to happen?

See this speech in context