Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his presentation. The allocation of funding is welcome as is the Minister's acknowledgement that it will have to be a rolling fund. These emergency provisions will have to remain in place well into next year because this crisis will not ease over the next couple of weeks. It will not be resolved quickly.

We have all heard the banks saying they are willing to lend money, but in practice that has not happened. The barriers that have put in place for people trying to access credit mean, in effect, that they cannot access it at all.

The Minister said the Department will not allow animals to go without feed and that he will arrange for them to be fed. What is the process for farmers to access that feed? Perhaps the Minister can outline the steps in that regard. I imagine that if a farmer can access credit from a bank or co-op, the Department would not consider feeding those animals. What will farmers be required to do to get that aid in cases where it will be very necessary?

The Minister said he has been planning for this since last autumn and was aware that the issue was coming up. We have all heard stories about cattle starving to death in the fields, yet the response is only kicking in now. How quickly will farmers get feed if they need to access it? Will they be required to demonstrate that they cannot get it from their own resources before the Department steps in to provide it?