Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has answered many of my questions. I want to relate to him that on Monday night I was at a public meeting of between 80 and 100 farmers in Cappamore in County Limerick. This included farmers from Tipperary as well as east Limerick. Two issues emerged at that meeting, the first of which was farm credit. The Minister addressed that in his presentation today, and I welcome the fact that he is meeting with the banks. The second thing I would like him to say to the banks concerns their style and how they communicate with farmers. I have had this barney about banks at the Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation as well. The letters and style of communication from the banks can be quite hard and harsh. This leads to my second issue, which is mental health. When that pressure is put on a farmer, or any individual, that style of communication can be quite catastrophic. I want the Minister to take the message to the banks that they must be mindful not only of their attitude to credit, but also their communication style. It is very important, because that is what the person sees first when the letter comes in the door, and the first trigger to mental health issues.

Moreover, I was pretty heartened by the community spirit that was evident in relation to this issue. I ask the Minister to use his office and profile to urge farmers to speak to their colleagues who have not come forward, of whom we are very mindful. It was expressed in the meeting that there are many more farmers out there who are under pressure or have quite considerable problems than the 80 or 100 who turned up. It is important to get that message out there, particularly when, as was mentioned today, there may be a fear of agricultural inspectors or other issues in the background. It is important to take the pressure off in any way we can, and communicate the call for farmers to come forward. We must emphasise that there is no stigma around this. The problem is not because of bad farming practice, rather it is due to bad weather.