Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have seen statements and public media comment on this point and it is important to ground the issue in facts. Mortality figures for January and February 2018 show a small increase compared with 2017. The 2018 figure is slightly lower than the 2016 figure for January and February. We had Storm Emma and its associated fallen animals. We do not yet have definitive figures for March. I am aware of anecdotal evidence in terms of increased activity in knackeries. The perception for those listening in from the outside to these figures and that story is that cattle are dying on farms from malnutrition and that is not the case. Obviously, in due course we will have all of the assessment of this when we begin to debrief and look at how we equip ourselves best for the winter of 2018 and I take Senator Paul Daly's point in this regard. Much of the evidence, however, would suggest that this is as a result of stress on animals that were housed for six months - fallen animals as a consequence of a herd of dairy cattle or others inside in heat going to dairy, falling and breaking legs. There is no evidence to suggest there is any significant level of malnutrition of animals fuelling those numbers.

The most important point that we can get across here is that there is no reason, because of the backstop provision we have under the welfare provisions, for any animal on any farm to die from malnutrition and the Department has always responded in that context, but the increase in numbers needs to be taken in the round, in that the January and February figures for 2018 are slightly lower than the 2016 figures. I expect, because of Storm Emma and associated problems with that, that there will be a surge in March but we have nothing to suggest that we are dealing with a calamitous increase and it is important that we place the figures in context. We will in due course have the proper figures because there is a lag time in respect of fallen animals being put up on the animal identification and movement, AIM, system of tracking cattle movements. We do not yet have the full March figures but the January and February figures are just as I have given to the committee.

The critical point, as I said, is that for farmers who face difficulties there is help available, either through the co-operative or through Teagasc, or, indeed, through the district veterinary offices, the network of offices the Department has. We can help. In particular, the co-operatives are doing sterling work. As I said, I spoke to a number of them personally. I met quite a lot of them in the context of meetings last week but I have also been in contact with a number of them individually before and since and they and their staff are doing extraordinary work in helping farmers. That help is available and that message needs to go out.

I take the point about making provision for the beginning of next year's fodder crisis, the beginning of which is within sight if we do not act appropriately. That will be one of the critical issues to be addressed in the immediate term once we get out of this particular problem. We supported last year a Teagasc initiative called Grass10. It was the year of grass, promoting grass as the most cost-effective feed that farmers can use. We need to encourage more farmers to become involved in measuring grass growth, being aware of what their farms are delivering and how they can increase that. The difference between those at the cutting edge and those who are not is very significant in terms of yield and we need to look at that.

The point about temperatures was made. We track that, almost on a daily basis, through this pasture sward system, in terms of what the soil temperatures are, what the daily dry matter growth is per hectare etc., and we do need an increase. We have had some increase in soil temperatures but we need more to get us out of this problem. Once we get out of this, whenever that is - we are not time-lining it - the next problem is to address the issue of ensuring that we have adequate provision for the winter of 2018 and the spring of 2019.

On Deputy Corcoran Kennedy's point, pit silage is now eligible for the transport subsidy, provided one is outside of the 50 km transport limit. The Deputy also made the point about learning the lessons of 2013 and 2018, and indeed learning the lessons of the tillage harvest of 2016.

We are dealing with far more frequent severe weather events, and how we can insulate ourselves against that is a real challenge. As I said, that is something I will be bringing to the implementation committee on Foodwise 2025 as a matter of urgency.

I appreciate the point made by Senator Lombard on reserves being depleted. That is undoubtedly the case, but through from my engagement with co-ops as late as today I have learned that some are continuing to source pit silage in particular locally rather than entirely depending on importation. There is some fodder movement within the country as well. All networks are being scoured to source fodder as effectively as possible, but we are dealing with exceptional weather events.

Deputy Cahill raised the horticulture issue and the related response. We had a €5 million capital scheme and the industry welcomed it. We reopened that after Storm Emma. As we speak, it is still open for applications, and the industry is aware of that. The Deputy commented on the issues of credit for farmers and the next demand on them, namely to put out fertiliser. That is critical. As temperatures rise and ground conditions improve, it is imperative that fertiliser is applied so that we get the cycle of growth going again. All of my information indicates that co-operatives and banks are not presenting an impediment to credit for those purposes. I will have further engagement with the banks very shortly. However, I wish to send a very clear message that this is what we expect. This is a short-term difficulty, and we expect the banks and the credit unions to respond appropriately as the need arises. We have previously subsidised interest through the €150 million loan scheme. That is what we did, at 2.95% interest. We are devising a new product yet to come to market. That will deliver additional supports in the form of products that are not already available to farmers. We are active in that space, and recognise that because of the banking crash some banks are not fit for purpose and require assistance in bringing those issues to resolution.