Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this motion in light of the ongoing crisis in the beef sector. As it is the week of the National Ploughing Championships, issues in our agriculture sector are all people are talking about.

I raised the many issues that family farms are currently facing as a result of poor treatment and the delayed intervention in the crisis on the part our Government. Other members of the Rural Independent Group and I called for the Dáil to be reconvened in early August when the farmers first started staging protests outside the gates of meat processing factories. The Government did not listen and we are still in the same mess. In fact, we are in a worse situation, particularly in view of the job losses at factories across the country.

The farmers' message is simple. All they want is a fair price for their hard work and their produce. These are decent, hard-working people, many of whom have never been on a picket line in their lives. They do not want to be on the picket line but they believe they have no other choice. Many of them are going out of existence, and they know it.

I call on the Government to act urgently and reconvene talks with all farming groups in order that we can resolve the outstanding issues around a fair base price, the 30-month age restrictions, the four-movement rule and the 70-day residency requirement with meat processors, retailers and farming organisations. Earlier, I asked the Taoiseach to personally intervene in this dispute. I put a question to him and he failed to answer it. He passed the mantle to the Minister of State in terms of having to answer the question. Why will the Taoiseach not intervene? Why has he not spoken out strongly in favour of the ordinary men and women who have gone out day and night to fight for their survival? It is not good enough. When it comes to this issue, our Taoiseach has stood idly by. I do not know if he clearly understands the crisis in the beef sector. I ask him again this evening to come out and fight for the ordinary man and woman who is fighting for their survival.

I am happy to support this motion. I support also any aspect of it that calls on the Government to ensure that all 2019 CAP payments issue swiftly. Those payments are needed urgently by these farmers to allow them pay their bills.

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