Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the representatives before the committee from the various banking organisations. I will follow on somewhat on what my colleague, Deputy Penrose, has been saying. The common denominator in every presentation was an increase in the overdraft facility as the solution to the problems facing farmers. As Deputy Penrose has said, any farmer or any person knows that an overdraft is the most expensive way a customer can possibly get money. Having said that, numerous other loan structures are operated by the various institutions and they are expensive as well. Given the European rate and the interest rates business people, individuals and the farming community have to pay, the question has to be revisited.

We are specifically dealing with the fodder crisis of winter 2017 and spring 2018. My question is for all the representatives. As Deputy Penrose has said, the bank representatives have all painted a rather glossy picture. In their eyes it does not seem to be nearly as bad as we see it. Do the bank representatives think that perhaps it has not come to their attention yet? Do they believe merchants have been carrying the majority of the problem of the farmers to date? As the year goes on, merchant credit will run out and will have to be paid. Where farmers have had to buy extra fodder as well as grain and feedstuffs through the merchants, they will now have to move into fertiliser, silage wrap and so forth now. The merchant credit will come to an end. The merchant will have to call stop. It is possible that only then will the banks see the seriousness of this crisis.

This may be something of a contradiction to what I have said earlier because it may be only coming down the line. Have the banks seen a spur in defaulters or those with problems and issues? Has there been a spike in the number of those unable to meet their arrangements with the banks?

I would also like to hear a little more from the delegates on specific sectors within agriculture. Farmers in my area are predominately suckler cow or dry stock farmers, with some engaged in tillage. If one speaks to any of these farmers about banking, he or she will say attending a bank is a waste of half a day and dependent on a member of staff actually being available, as Deputy Willie Penrose said. The bank will ask how many cows is a farmer milking and if he or she does not milk cows, he or she might as well leave and close the door behind. What are the specific targets for the suckler cow sector and also those engaged in small-scale tillage? I come from County Westmeath which is not in a major tillage area, but some farmers might have 40, 50 or 60 acres and they are in serious difficulty. A report was carried out on the crisis in the tillage sector which found that bigger farmers in areas with a greater concentration of tillage were not in as bad a position, but the small family unit is struggling. When we talk about agriculture, our emphasis should always be on maintaining the small family farm. Those involved have been forgotten about. If a farmer is not milking cows, the one thing he or she can bring to the table when looking for a loan is the guarantee of a single farm payment at the end of the year. Last week Commissioner Oettinger indicated that there would probably be a 5% cut in the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, budget. When it filters down to individual farmers, how will existing and potential future arrangements with banks be affected if the one guarantee they can provide is a cut in income of 5%?