Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The work of the stakeholder group, the Department, Teagasc and, indeed, myself has been ongoing across the summer and through the month of August. The question Deputy McConalogue poses is how to close the gap. There is no single instrument that will close the gap. I could not agree more with Senator Paul Daly that imports alone will not solve the problem. The fear was that in flying that flag, we would import and people would see it as the solution. It is not. It is only a small part of it and an expensive one at that. The real solution, in so far as there is a solution to be had, is to use every available opportunity between now and the end of the growing season, whether by availing of our tillage initiative or our low-income permanent pasture concessions in the context of GLAS participation. In that context, our negotiations with Brussels on GLAS concessions and LIPP were about securing payments which for those farmers are worth €85 million per annum. We want to ensure that we secure the payment, deliver the environmental benefits under the scheme and have it liberated for the period post 1 September for a harvest. We have managed to secure the payment, which is really important, and, where it was previously not eligible, farmers now have those lands available for harvest. That is 270,000 ha. I acknowledge that a lot of it is not suitable and will not deliver baled silage, but some of it will and that is part of the solution.

Tillage is also part of the solution, as is culling. There is a host of instruments which need to be used to get us out the far side of this. There is no single one. In many instances, it will depend on the circumstances in the individual farmer's yard. I emphasise that a significant part of the solution relates to those who may determine that they have enough themselves for the winter, but who may not be inclined to avail of the flexibility. They should really look at the opportunity presented to them now because the migration will not be from the south east. In fact, if there is surplus fodder anywhere in the country, it will be moving in that direction I suspect. That is why those concessions are really important. In terms of delivering and if cash flow is the problem, €1.3 billion will be paid to farmers between now and the end of the year across pillar 1 and pillar 2 payments. That is on the basis of the concessions secured in Brussels to pay them earlier and to pay them at the maximum rate. That is an important cash flow. While members may counter that it is their money and it was coming anyway, it is coming earlier and it is coming at the maximum permissible rate. As such, it is additional cash flowing to the system, which addresses part of the problem.

Senator Paul Daly referred to clinics and one-on-one advice. That is one of the things the stakeholder group delivered. If one was buying any of the farming publications over the last several weeks, one saw significant advertising on the appropriate measures to take. That has been supplemented by co-operatives on the ground organising meetings for their client bases and through the organisation of advice by Teagasc for its clients as well as those who are not its clients on a free basis. There are tailored messages for individual farmers, including one-on-one advice.

The Senator's said there was no point going to the UK. That safety valve is not as reliable as it was because the UK faces similar challenges. The point was made about where we were at regarding imports. The funding will cover approximately 80,000 tonnes. As I understand it, approximately 17 importers, co-operatives and others, are approved under the scheme and approximately 40,000 tonnes has already been identified by some of the key players. Some is already in the country and options have been taken elsewhere. Whereas the announcement on these negotiations was made some weeks ago, we were in constant contact with all of these parties, in particular the bigger importers and processors with established track records. They were aware of our thinking and deliberations on all of these matters and they have been out in the marketplace to source fodder and to take options. I cannot emphasise too greatly Senator Daly's point that this is really only a small part of it. The best chance we have of getting out of this is to avail of the window of opportunity provided between now and whenever the growing season ends. Whether it is sooner or later, we must maximise every opportunity through the tillage scheme, farmers getting a second and, where possible, third cut, and GLAS concessions. GLAS may not be an opportunity for oneself, but it may be for one's neighbour or someone else.

I refer to the credit issue. As I said, we will be making an announcement in the context of the engagement we have had with all of the partners on the next loan, which is a capital investments piece. It is not a working capital piece. I dealt with the issue around working capital earlier and the response of the industry in that regard. However, it is also the fact that all co-operatives have responded in some shape or form, which has been really important.

I have dealt with the issue of live exports. We continue to engage, not only with Bord Bia, but directly on these matters through officials in my Department with competent authorities in other jurisdictions. It is not so much a function of Bord Bia, albeit it has a role to play. A great deal of the engagement is at a technical level between officials and that continues whether it is Turkey, Libya or anywhere else. Those meetings have been continuing. The proof of our commitment to live exports is in the figures.

Senator Mulherin spoke about credit. I have engaged with the banks around the need for them to respond. They can outline that response in detail themselves. That engagement has also been about understanding the financial pressure farmers are under and engaging with farmers, not late in the day but in anticipation of issues around repayment capacity and parked interest to take account of that. I was encouraged by what I heard, but I also made the point to the banks that one client with his or her hand up to say he or she was not treated well would cause a problem for all of us. I have been reassured by the banks that they appreciate the concern and have responded by way of product. They are also prepared to respond by way of engagement directly with individual clients who may have difficulties. It is extremely stressful and difficult and I appreciate the looming deadlines in terms of tax returns and tax liabilities which are also important. Farmers should be aware that there is someone they can talk to about those issues.

On the income tax code, we have also introduced an opt-out in the five-year income averaging scenario, which some farmers find beneficial, albeit it is not for everyone. It is a consequence of an understanding of the way farming works. It is volatile and in some years one can experience a significant drop in income. The opt-out from income averaging is important in that context.