Ms Eimear McGuinness:

I thank the committee for the invitation. I am the manager of the mart in Donegal town. I am also the chairperson of the Donegal Mart Society and of the Associated Livestock Marts throughout the country. I have been a manager in Donegal town for 12 years and have been there for about 15 years in total. We have faced many challenges over the years but these insurance hikes are one of the greatest we have ever had and if we do something on this, and quickly, marts will close.

Livestock marts annual premiums are rising at a shocking rate. My submission to members includes a table with figures from various marts across Ireland which show what is happening. There are approximately 85 to 90 marts in Ireland, some open and closed and we may see a reduction in number in the next couple of years, although I hope not. An estimated 1.7 million cattle and 800,000 sheep go through them annually, with a value of €1.2 billion. FBD is the mart sector's primary insurance provider. We cannot get so much as a quote from any other insurance company so we are at FBD's mercy. Insurance providers view marts as having high significant exposure with injuries to employees and members of the public. We have had many meetings with FBD over the years. In 2016 we were asked to a meeting in Letterkenny where we were told that it was taking new safety measures, that an insurance assessor would be dispatched to all the marts and that we would have to make all these changes for health and safety reasons and to keep the premiums down. We had no option but to take out a loan and we spent about €15,000 at the time to undertake these works. Lo and behold, the premiums increased anyway the next year.

I should add that we had two claims in 2014 and 2015 which I felt should not have been settled. From speaking to most marts across Ireland, every manager will say the same thing, namely, that claims are being settled that should not be, and money is being handed out. However, that is not something we will fix today. It is public liability claims that are our biggest problem.

This year the accident in Mohill mart brought everything to a head. It was a horrible accident and the man involved was very badly injured. Changes had to be made. The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, ICOS, one of the leading bodies in the marts, had talks with different organisations, including with FBD, and many ICOS marts decided on a no-access policy into the marts or the corridors. Some mart managers feel that does away with the whole reason behind a mart in the first place, that one cannot go down the yards to see the cattle, but there is agreement that something must be done and we cannot have people getting injured. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place, we do not know where to go with it.

There is also the cost of changing the marts around. The mart in Donegal town is an old building and was 50 years in operation last year. We need to put in a walkway across the yard which would be a large expense, and it is money that we do not have. My job is to try to make sure that the mart breaks even each year. It is impossible to get money like that now and when one operates from a 50 year old building, one spends a great deal of money all the time.

There are also many marts which have seen huge hikes despite having no claims. That is very unfair and I would like to know the reason for that.

I am with Associated Livestock Marts, Donegal Marts Association and we are very fearful for the future of the marts. Marts are needed in every town and village. There was a reason they were established in the first place, to trade livestock, but it is also a social thing for farmers who might not see anyone from one end of the week to the next. They go to the mart every week to discuss the price of cattle, but it is also hugely important for communities, villages and towns. When a farmer comes to town, he spends money.

I included a lot of background information in the note I gave to members. I do not want to keep members all day but if we get nothing else from this meeting, it is that we get full disclosure from insurance providers on all mart annual premiums, their rate of increase, the factors contributing to the rising costs and details of claims, both contested and paid out by the insurance providers over the last five years throughout the country. If we see that, we might see another side of what has been happening. We are not being told it all. Deputy Pearse Doherty checked this for me last year and we were told something that obviously was not true. I have included part of a response I received in the briefing document I prepared for members. We would also like assurances from FBD or whatever other providers. We need to talk to them. The marts cannot close but they cannot pay what is currently being asked of them. I understand that we have to make changes, whether it is a viewing period for cattle or something else, and we must come to some agreement but insurance companies cannot say that they will wait five years for changes to be made, they must reduce the premiums back down now. A mart which was paying €22,000, for example, is now being asked to pay €87,000. That mart will not be open in five years. We need to act now. I want to stress that as long as I have worked in the mart and dealt with FBD, I have always found the staff very helpful and courteous but this must be addressed.

Finally, I ask the Government to give serious consideration to a funding scheme to help marts. It is the only thing that we can do as we must make these changes. In the case of smaller marts, it could be CCTV cameras. If, as my colleague noted earlier, we could change that so it would be in the 30 days and it would not be deleted, that would be very important. We need funding for a scheme like that or for overhead walkways in the bigger marts because we are just about breaking even now.