Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming in today to discuss this important matter. It is disappointing we do not have more time to discuss it today and that we are under such time pressure given that plenty of notice was given of the request for this meeting bearing in mind the importance of the issue under discussion. The Chairman indicated that we must conclude by 3.50 p.m.

It is disappointing we have not had more of a sense from the Minister of an understanding that the Department did not deal with this issue appropriately and that he allowed this situation to happen without being on top of the issue. I, my colleagues and everyone at this committee have raised this matter with the Minister for a number of months. A number of Fianna Fáil Deputies raised a joint Topical Issue on this matter in the Dáil in mid-November. They also raised it two weeks ago prior to the Easter recess and in the intervening period between November and April. It was pointed out to the Minister on a consistent basis that, first, there was a fodder crisis in certain regions, particularly in the west and the north west and, second, given that we were facing into a late spring, there would be a fodder shortage nationally. At all stages of our raising that issue, the Minister unfortunately was consistently in denial of the fact that there was a fodder shortage that could develop into a fodder crisis in the event that the weather did not improve. As we have seen over the course of the past two weeks, that has come to pass. As a result of the Minister's lack of preparation for that, he and the Department have been scrambling to try to get on top of this issue. They were not prepared and nor did they provide the assistance required to the farming community to deal with this very real problem facing people at farm level across the country.

We do not expect the Minister to be able to control the weather or the level of fodder in farmyards across the country but we expect him to be on top of his brief and on top of the issues and to be fully aware of the pressures in the farming community and to be prepared in the event that leadership is required from the Department. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in this instance. We now must try to support farmers as best we can.

That lack of preparedness was shown with the fodder importing subsidy scheme announced by the Minister last week. This was patently obvious, despite our request to him in advance to be prepared. I advised him in the Dáil prior to the Easter recess that he needed to have contingency plans in place to import fodder in the event that the weather continued on the pathway it was on. As fodder was beginning to be imported last week, the Minister was only starting to devise the scheme and put it in place. That lack of preparedness was patently obvious in his announcement of the scheme when he said it was only going to be delivered through dairy co-operatives and his subsequent announcement the following day that, thankfully, it would be made available through all co-operatives and feed merchants. Again, it showed that he was not on top of the issue and that the Government was not prepared to deliver the support that was necessary.

I welcome that the scheme is now in place. I ask the Minister to clarify its terms. It has been indicated that only €1.5 million is available under it and that in the event of the scheme being over-subscribed, co-operatives would be paid proportionately less than what they might have applied for. That is not a sensible approach. It creates confusion as to the level of support that will be available. There needs to be clarity about that. Farmers need support from the Government to get them through the next few weeks and for it to recognise the financial strain they are under. That needs to be done in two ways. First, low-interest loans need to be provided to farmers, where appropriate, to tide them over the next few weeks. I am aware that €25 million was allocated for low-interest loans in the budget. That facility needs to be expedited and put in place immediately. We must recognise that loans are not appropriate for some low-income farmers and that they need more direct financial support. To that end, the issue of meal vouchers needs to be embraced immediately. The Minister, the Government and the Department need to put in place supports for farmers who simply cannot afford to purchase the fodder that is required to get them through the next few weeks. People may ask why should the farming sector be supported when it is in trouble and why should the Government have to provide such support. We have the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, at European level, which provides for assistance to be given to the farming community through CAP payments to ensure that high-quality food is produced in a safe manner and at a cost which would be less to the consumer than they would otherwise pay. It is important the Minister is available to support farmers to get through this crisis. He also needs to ensure that the remaining 15% of GLAS payments are expedited and that the 15% in respect of payments under the sheep welfare scheme are delivered as well.

We must learn lessons from this crisis and ensure there is not a repeat of it. Unfortunately, this is the second time in five years that we have had a fodder crisis. Despite that, the Minister was totally unprepared to deal with it and was in denial that a problem was coming down the tracks. That cannot happen again. Should there be fodder shortage in the future combined with a late spring, we need the Department to be prepared to deal with it, to be forewarned of it and to be fully on top of the problem coming down the tracks. To that end, a standing committee needs to be put in place which can be pulled together in the spring in future, two or three months in advance of a problem arising, to assess the issues and the level of preparedness of the agricultural sector to face into a late spring in the event a problem arising. That has patently been a real failing on the part of the Minister and the Government on this occasion.