Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the deputation for the comprehensive report and presentation. I have had the opportunity to discuss the issue with a number of people locally who have been hit directly by it. They are very stressed and very much at a loss on the issue. I have also discussed it with my party colleagues, who have been highlighting it to the Minister as well. While there are only 400 farms affected, there are 400 families, I would expect, behind each of those. We should not lose sight of the fact that family incomes are affected by this. As Mr. Healy pointed out, it is an unusual weather situation and a once-in-30-years event. If it was a flooding event, it would be very visible. It would be apparent on the ground, carried on the news and so on. In this situation, however, the weather came, did the damage and went away. The damage remained and farmers were left picking up the pieces for some time afterwards. There is also the fact that the people and families that have been hit are scattered all along the western coast or the Wild Atlantic Way.

It really needs to be hammered home with the Minister that while low-interest borrowing might be of help, it does not prevent a crisis. What is really needed is a crisis fund. It would be an awful injustice if one type of farming was able to benefit from a crisis fund while another enterprise, such as tillage, was not able to access something similar. That is what we need to keep the focus on. That would surely be a decision for the Minister. While I am sure there would be influence from Europe in supporting him or not, it is ultimately a decision for the Minister. That is where we need to keep the focus to ensure that he provides a direct crisis fund to the families that have been hit by this.

Mr. O'Regan made a very good point. It is a separate issue, but we also need to keep the focus on the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, for tillage. There is inequality between one enterprise, in which he was able to build an automated milking parlour, and the tillage enterprise, which is not allowed access to the scheme. That is another day's issue, but one that needs to be highlighted as well.

I wish to ask Mr. Healy about the survey he carried out. He has clarified that he expects to have final results on it over the next ten days. He has a fairly substantial batch of information already after receiving 200 out of 400 responses. Are there emerging patterns in that information regarding the scale of the loss to each individual? Are we looking at many large losses or a whole load of small losses? I ask the witness to clarify the emerging patterns on that. With 200 out of 400 responses received, he has fairly substantial information already.

Go raibh maith agat, Cathaoirleach, for allowing me the opportunity to contribute, even though I am not a full member of the committee.