Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for appearing before the committee. He concluded by saying that a problem solved was a problem halved. He has undertaken some initiatives but the financial undertaking needed to tackle this problem is far greater than what the Government has done thus far. I welcome some of the initiatives that have been undertaken but the situation on Irish farms is dire. We are completely dependent on a good autumn of grass growth and a good spring. There was frost this morning in my county, and we are still in a drought situation. The first signs of autumn are coming and we are relying on grass growth at the back end to get us out of the situation we are in. It is not going to happen.

The situation on farms is extremely serious. Farmers are under great pressure. There is a huge cashflow problem and a huge level of merchant debt. We probably had the worst spring in a long time and debt levels were already high by 1 May. Unfortunately, farmers have been feeding at winter levels all through the summer and consequently, merchant debt has risen to enormous levels. Large tax bills are due to be paid in October, which will also put severe pressure on cashflow, contractors are waiting to be paid and all that is without the living expenses of keeping a household going. There is no cashflow and farmers are under extreme pressure.

The Minister referred to debt levels at co-operatives and to co-operatives giving money out, which comes at a great cost. Can we expect co-operatives and merchants to keep carrying the level of debt that the industry is currently experiencing?

It is disappointing, to say the least, that the measures promised in the budget in respect of low-interest loans still have not been put on the table. We need them as quickly as possible. They were discussed in the context of Brexit. They were envisaged to try to offset some of the huge challenges that Brexit will present. We are in a situation where there will be huge demand for credit. As a Minister, Deputy Creed cannot renege on his responsibility and he cannot leave it to the banks, co-operatives and merchants to organise this because it will not happen. When the low-interest loans were announced in 2016, I remember saying in the Dáil that the amount of money put aside would not be nearly enough to cater for the demand that was there. I was ridiculed at the time and informed that there were adequate funds. Unfortunately, I was proved right within a couple of days because the money was taken up rapidly.

If we have another scheme of low-interest loans put in place, which there has to be, the demand will be absolutely massive. Bank of Ireland announced a scheme today in which it is talking about making €100 million available to farmers at something of the order of 3.8%. We need low-cost finance and we cannot just abdicate our responsibility to the banks to administer this. When what was promised in 2016 was done, many of the farmers who needed the money the most, who were under the most pressure, were not able to get access to it. That cannot be allowed to happen. I take it for granted that we will make a significant amount of low-cost money available to farmers. If we do not, our whole industry will crumble. Contractors, private merchants and co-operatives will not be able to carry the burden. We have to ensure that the money gets to those who need it the most.

The importation of fodder is not a matter of dropping one bale here and one there as happened in previous springs. Farmyards will need to have loads of fodder delivered by articulated lorries. We are talking about significant shortages. Teagasc figures from June are now irrelevant because we had seven to eight weeks of winter feeding on an awful lot of farms during June, July and August where huge quantities of what should be fed next winter have been used. I was reading an article in the Irish Farmers' Journalon building up grass supply for the autumn. To say that the position in this regard is frustrating for those of us who are still in drought situations would really be understating it. There is no facility to build up a grass bank because growth cannot match the demand and nor will it do so. Temperatures are starting to drop and there is no hope of that happening. We have seen the problems with live exports to Turkey in the past couple of days. There have been predictions in the agricultural media about the beef stock coming from the dairy herd and what price they will make at the end of this year. The predictions that the agricultural media are making in that regard are frightening in the extreme.

We have to get live export markets going again. We have to put competition in place for those cattle, whether weanlings or year-and-a-half animals, and put some competition back into that trade. Every boatload that we could move out of the country would have a twin impact in that it would obviously reduce the demand for fodder here but also put competition into the trade at ringside. Unfortunately, that is completely lacking at the moment. People who traditionally bought stores will be selling what fodder supplies they have to those who are out of fodder and will take the profit they can make from selling the fodder rather than buying store cattle. That is a huge problem which is coming down the tracks extremely quickly. Resources have to be put into Bord Bia to see where we can get live exports going and it has to be done as a matter of urgency.

Meat factories are letting down the sector. Unfortunately, they have an impeccable record in this regard. As soon as drought hit in late June and early July, they immediately dropped prices. This week, they dropped prices in the factories again and the predictions are that they will be cut further next week. Factories need to be monitored in order to identify what exactly is the return in the marketplace. I am convinced that there is no reason why factory prices should be reduced in the way that is happening at present. Some farmers put cattle into sheds in the summer to try to reduce the demand for grass on their farms. Some of their cattle are now getting ready for slaughter and factories are making unjustified cuts. The Minister set up a beef forum a couple of years ago. If ever there was a need for a beef forum, it is now. We need to examine exactly what the market is returning for beef and let the factories show that the price reductions being made are warranted. It has really shaken confidence in the trade to have these price drops happen at this time. That demands serious scrutiny and the factories cannot be allowed to exploit the situation. The feed lots and the price for which they will be able to fill those lots at the end of this year will put those factories in a hugely advantageous position next spring in the context of manipulating the price to farmers.

I also want to mention the pig sector. It can be forgotten, but it is under huge pressure. Feed prices are rising and unfortunately the price for pigs has dropped fairly significantly. It is a sector which is under extreme financial pressure. I know it is restricted to a small number of producers, but it is under huge pressure and needs aid and help to survive. When Brexit hit, the mushroom sector was badly affected. The pig sector is under massive pressure and needs an aid package to get over this. The availability of raw materials for concentrates for the back end of this year and next spring will become a huge issue. This drought is not just an Irish problem, it is a worldwide issue. We have seen the price of concentrates lifting significantly. That will cause huge pressure. When one hears our millers talking about whether they will have the raw materials available next February and March, it really sends a chill up one's spine. That needs to be examined and all possible routes for getting raw materials for concentrates need to be explored. We need to build up a stock to ensure we have enough in this country.

The Minister has extended the spreading of fertiliser for two weeks and that is welcome. The cartel that operates in respect of fertiliser prices has been shown again clearly, with fertiliser prices rising significantly. As soon as demand for fertiliser goes up, the price automatically goes up. Those involved are exploiting the situation. Farmers are under dire pressure for cash and are being forced to pay more for fertiliser. This matter needs to be examined. For what price should fertiliser be sold? Why, when demand is at its highest, does the price for fertiliser always rise?

We see that other countries, including Germany and the United States, have stepped in and given a significant amount of money to their farmers to get them through the crisis. This Government has to step up. The three main challenges on which we have to focus are: to get finance at a low cost to farmers; to get fodder into the country; and to get live exports out of the country.Farmers are often accused of crying wolf and exaggerating the effects of a crisis. This crisis is immense. It is putting families under huge mental pressure. The mental strain that farmers are under is severe. Our industry needs help more than ever before. We face major challenges. We talked in this room about the challenges relating to Brexit. We depend on weather to get us through this. We need a good back-end to the year and we need an early spring. Most of all, farmers need immediate financial help.