Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for attending today to discuss the very real crisis facing the farming community. At the outset, I wish to express my disappointment with the fact that this meeting was not convened earlier. We requested a meeting with the Minister and his officials in mid-August but the earliest available date was not until today. Overall, the situation facing farmers is causing real fear. The farming community is under immense pressure because of the unprecedented weather conditions with which it has had to deal in recent weeks and months. We have had two fodder crises in the last five years but we have never been in a situation where we were discussing a looming winter fodder crisis in September. Last spring it was not until very late in the day, in April, that there was a recognition by the Minister and the Department that there was a real fodder crisis. Until that point in time, the default position was that there was enough fodder in the country but we saw what happened in that instance. Following on from that, with fodder reserves completely depleted, we now have a situation where we have a very real problem facing us in the year ahead.

I ask the Minister to clarify his view and that of his Department on the current fodder situation in terms of the actual deficit. The Minister indicated in his opening address that initial Teagasc estimates indicated an 18% deficit rising to 28%. The Minister has indicated that an assessment is ongoing at the moment in terms of the rest of this year and what can possibly be made up and saved over the coming weeks will feed into that. Certainly we all hope that it will work out as well as it can but given that the Teagasc assessment and report to the Minister indicated a deficit of 28%, that is a massive shortfall to make up. The Minister indicated in his response to Deputy Cahill on fodder imports that the objective is to provide 85,000 tonnes through the fodder import scheme. He also indicated that he expected that to represent only a tiny fraction of the overall need. I would like to hear more from the Minister about how he envisages the rest of the deficit being made up and where he sees that coming from. A few short weeks ago, the deficit was reckoned to be at 28%.

We do not know at this stage how early the winter will be or how late the spring will be. The more time goes on, the further our options for addressing it will shorten. That is a real problem.

On this occasion, there is more pressure across northern Europe and our neighbouring countries in respect of feed and fodder supply. Whatever comes in at the start of the winter and over the harvest period will be important because as the winter goes on, if it is harsh, it is going to be very difficult to source supplies. Unlike in previous years, when we go looking for it it may simply not be there. The Minister might update us on how the fodder import measure is going at the moment. How much is actually coming in? It is now that it needs to be coming in, not later on.

Deputy Cahill outlined the key aspects that are needed. Without a doubt, first and foremost is credit flexibility for farmers to be able to get through the crisis winter that is facing them. Also key is getting fodder in and getting cattle out. I know live exports always have to be a priority. What engagement has the Minister had with Bord Bia in terms of increasing the number of cattle that can go out in the next weeks?

We will hear from the banks later on about where they are at from a commercial point of view in terms of their own products. The budget last year allocated a €25 million Brexit loan fund. We are now just a few weeks away from the next budget and there is still no sign of that being delivered. This reflects exceptionally poorly on the Minister and the Government in terms of a total lack delivery.

The Minister indicated that he is pleased to see that rates are somehow coming down. He stated that was an objective of his introducing the previous loan fund, which was snapped up very promptly. An objective of the Department over the next period has to be to deliver real support to farmers to help them through the winter ahead. It is not sufficient for the Minister to say that he has seen a drop in interest rates from banks over the last months. It has to be an objective of his Department to ensure that a suite of supports is there to help farmers get through what is going to be a very difficult winter. To that end, the Minister needs to be delivering another loan fund tailored specifically for the farming community. The Minister indicated that repayment capacity will always be key in terms of how the banks work with their customers. What happens this year for some of those farmers who will be struggling with repayment capacity and will not be able to show they can meet repayments? Undoubtedly, if things do not improve, there will be some farmers in this situation. What suite of measures will the Minister provide to ensure they can be better supported and given the increased flexibility they may require to get through the year ahead?

I believe we are going to need a hardship fund to support farmers who will find themselves in very particular difficulty. In Germany over the last weeks, the Minister for agriculture has introduced a drought compensation fund to help farmers who have suffered from the impact of drought and have seen, on average, a 25% drop in crop yields. I remind the Minister of his own Teagasc figures indicating that forage and fodder yields for this year are down 28% at this point.

On the catch crop support, in respect of which some feedback indicates take-up has not been what was expected although the Minister seemed to indicate otherwise in his comments, can he give us further clarity? It can be looked at again and that needs to happen very quickly to see if further supports can be provided. On the low-input permanent pastures flexibilities for GLAS schemes, which 40% of farmers are in, the Minister has indicated that the flexibility there is that fodder can be gathered between September and December. What is happening in respect of fertiliser inputs for those crops and that land mass, which amounts to almost 300,000 ha? I understand the Minister did engage with the European Commission with regard to facilitating additional fertiliser flexibility to be applied on that land. As things stand, the maximum is 32 units per acre or 40 kg per hectare. Without application of fertiliser, there is not going to be much to gather off that over the next period to try to help the situation.