Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion, which was brought forward because of the huge pressures facing the agriculture sector, in particular the devastating effect the most recent crisis is having on farmers' income. The agrifood sector plays a pivotal role in the Irish economy, contributing a value of €24 billion annually and providing over 7.4% of our national employment. Agriculture provides 60% of employment within the agrifood sector, supporting over 300,000 jobs across the country. It is the engine of rural Ireland and it must be supported actively by this Government.

Unfortunately, this Government has failed rural Ireland over the past number of years. We have seen a reduction in funding for our rural roads and our group water and sewerage schemes. We have seen the closure of rural Garda stations, the increase in the pupil-teacher ratio, which has led to the closure of small schools, and a lack of support for the post office network.

This latest ongoing beef crisis is having a devastating effect on farm incomes, which in turn is having negative consequences for the rural economy. The Irish farmer, the primary producer in the food chain, is being systemically undercut. The family farm is simply not getting rewarded for the time and effort farmers are putting in, day in and day out. They are not getting a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. This crisis has highlighted the vulnerabilities of farmers to the market volatility and to the manipulation by the stronger players, that is, the processors and the supermarket chains.

Unfortunately, the Minister has stood idly by as decent, hard-working men have seen their income decimated, and that is not just coming from the Opposition. I refer to the recent publication from the Irish Farmers Association, which certainly would not be seen to be pro-Fianna Fáil. Henry Burns states: "Minister Coveney has stood back for far too long and allowed the factories take full advantage of increased supplies to impose penal price and specification cuts which in turn have seriously hit farm families".

Apart from what is happening being morally wrong, Article 39(b) of the Lisbon treaty states that the Union's explicit objective is to ensure that farmers get a fair standard of living from the land. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, should prioritise working with the new Agriculture Commissioner designate, Phil Hogan, at EU level and place a renewed emphasis on achieving a fair return for farmers' product. He should clearly outline his plans with regard to live exports, which would offer an alternative to farmers, open up the market in which they could trade, and ensure greater competition. The Minister must also immediately utilise existing legislation to analyse how the beef sector is functioning and establish the irregularities, if any, that exist.

I complement the Minister on the agreement he reached with his Northern Ireland counterpart. The agreement has been warmly welcomed by the sector and it is hoped it will increase North-South trade, but what monitoring of its implementation has the Minister put in place? My understanding from talking to people within the sector is that one substantial retailer has expressed concern about the implementation of the agreement.

The Minister should consider introducing a code of practice which would involve producers, processors and retailers. That would ensure that the crisis of confidence and the lack of trust which currently exists would not happen again. The current changes in specification, whether it be the age limit, the weight or residency, have been implemented without any prior notice to the producers. That has been a significant contributing factor in the current crisis. I believe if a code of practice had been in place, this would not have happened.

It is clear that the retailers have established a dominant position and there is growing evidence that the margin they enjoy has increased substantially year on year while the margins of the primary producers, the family farmers, have reduced. The Minister needs to establish adequate pricing transparency in the retail sector. There should be no abuse by the dominant retailers. A guaranteed return should be given to the producers to ensure that the farmer gets a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.

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