Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome both sets of delegations to what is a very interesting discussion. I will focus in particular on Mr. Murphy's presentation. I read with interest last week the document he and Mr. Hurley produced, given their history and experience of the situation in New Zealand and Northern Ireland. In that document they referenced the difficulties developing in Northern Ireland in particular, which are probably on a smaller scale to what is happening in New Zealand. They make reference to advice, Teagasc and where we should be going in the future. I suggest that they should be giving advice to farmers in Ireland more so than some of the people who have been giving advice in recent years.

There is a figure that has not been mentioned. I am open to correction on it but I do not believe I am wrong. Twenty years ago, in 1995, farmers were receiving 27p per litre for milk. That is the equivalent of the price we are getting now. Like Mr. Murphy, I am a small dairy farmer in Carlow and that is the price we are getting at the moment. Input costs have probably quadrupled since then yet we are expected to take the same amount of money. Therein lies the issue. The inputs are the major issue that has not been addressed in those 20 years.

We just keep producing and getting the same type of figure. Mr. Murphy and Mr. Hurley rightly referenced that every few years an opportunity arises for the price to increase for a short period, but it reduces just as quickly.

The big issue is the young farmer who may have been involved in a different area of expertise in recent years, say, tillage, who decides to take the opportunity of going into milk production because he sees the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow. He may have a large block of land ideally located, in theoretical terms, for producing milk but the investment he will need to do that is where the problem arises. If he has to invest €300,000, €400,000 or €500,000 to get into the system, he will be facing major difficulties if we have the volatility that was mentioned and if he is basing his potential profit on a price of 30 cent per litre, with no guarantee of that for the future. He is the one who is probably facing more difficulty at the moment as opposed to someone who has been in the system for many years who may only increase numbers by 20 or 30 as opposed to entering from the bottom, so to speak. He is the one who needs more help and advice from everybody, be it in terms of skills or a bank in particular. It is in that area that he needs the help.

The banks have a huge part to play, and I understand we will deal with those at a later stage.