Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. Much of what I wanted to ask has been asked already. If it has, perhaps Mr. Santini can let me know. I was in and out at other appointments. I come from a constituency where there is quite a lot of agricultural activity. Farmers have been feeling the pinch in recent times. The very produce that dairy, suckler or other farmers need, namely, the manure to continue their practice, is now quadrupling - not doubling or tripling - in price. This has upset them. I would not like to say they are angered. It has made them fearful of how they are going to survive. Many of them feel that they are being squeezed by an existing Government that is against many of the farm practices that are there at present. The farmers are under a severe amount of pressure. Mr. Santini has said that the supply might be there later this year, and that it will be up to what it should be. What good is that if the farmers cannot pay for the product? That is what they are facing. The farmers who have spoken to me are feeling the pinch and are worried about the bills they are going to face in their local co-operatives.

Mr. Santini talked about the suspension of all tariffs on nitrogen, which would reduce the price of nitrogen in the EU by several tens of euro per tonne. By how much would that reduce the cost of nitrogen for the farmer in this country? Is it going to happen and is it going to happen immediately? If it is not going to happen, it will be catastrophic for many farmers here. Those with a different agenda who would like to see a lot of farmers wiped out might have a smile on their faces. This is a backdoor way of destroying the agricultural way of working that many farmers whom we know are working at the moment. At the end of the day, if they cannot pay for their product, it is the same as anything. If we are all buying something today for €100 and it costs €500 in the space of less than 12 months, something has gone wrong somewhere. Surely to God, somewhere in the political system, whether in Europe or in this country, it needs to be rectified immediately, before farmers face the edge and many of them face being wiped out?

I would appreciate if Mr. Santini could shed some light on the future of Irish agriculture. It is probably a European issue, but I am talking about the Irish farmers who are currently squeezed to the limit. They find that every time they on the radio station or turn on the television, they hear and see anti-farming sentiments. There is nobody willing to help those who are trying to pay a bill at the end of the month in the local co-operative. If Mr. Santini goes on the airwaves today with no hope, how does he expect a politician like me to give hope to people who desperately need it at this time? I would appreciate it if he would address the issue. How can this issue be resolved, and resolved immediately? Is it going to be resolved immediately? Are the farmers going to be left in the nightmare situation in many cases? I do not think many politicians realise what is happening in rural Ireland. Farmers are losing their farms. Co-operatives are taking over their farms because they cannot pay their bills. That is what it comes down to. They cannot pay the bills. There is a desperate situation here, where the price of a product to the farmer, which was not cheap in the first place, has quadrupled. It is putting a lot of them under pressure and many of them are facing a very bleak future. I thank Mr. Santini for being here today. I would appreciate it if he would enlighten us as to whether there is any light at the end of the tunnel.