Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To follow on from the discussion on TAMS, the Minister mentioned the benefits for the pig sector. However, tied into that sector are those tillage farms, including my own, which take much of the slurry from these units. The problems farmers like me face in this regard is that each load is inconsistent and is not homogenous. Moreover, the slurry arrives at times of the year when its value is not as high because if one spreads it on stubble ground, the nitrogen will evaporate. There is no use in putting a lot of nitrogen into a winter crop in the back end of the year, whereas one achieves a completely different result if one incorporates it into the soil for spring barley or spring wheat. I ask the Minister to consider grant-aiding slurry storage facilities for large areas of land in which lots of liquid slurries and the associated nutrients can be imported, agitated and tested. Consequently, one would be able to ascertain precisely its volume and composition. This completes the nitrogen cycle and certainly would cut down on the cost of nitrogen, as well as increasing the quantity of organic matter in soils that are being depleted.

My second point pertains to the issue of early retirement. In the context of a set number of early retirements per year, would the Minister consider examining what would be the net cost of so doing? In the early days of the previous pension scheme, in which my parents were involved, participants could keep their old-age pension but in the latter end, their old-age pension was taken from them. So be it but in my own case and that of others, this is certainly what got us involved in agriculture. I acknowledge that funds are tight but I ask the Minister to consider what would be the cost.

I note the Minister has provided for increased expenditure on sea fisheries, which he thought might have been for rigid inflatable boats, RIBs, hardware that was purchased, boats and so on. Would the Minister consider co-operating with voluntary bodies such as Mallow Search and Rescue, with which I am involved? These bodies purchase lots of equipment, were involved in the recent rescue mission in west Cork and do a great deal of work nationwide. However, they pay full VAT and are not tied in. It appears to me to be double expenditure, in that there is a trained unit but the Department is purchasing on the other side, whereas a collaboration between both might bring better value for everyone.