Mr. Tim Cullinan:

I thank the Senator. His first point is relevant. This is not just about 250 farmers but also the communities around them. The Senator is correct and approximately 30% of the pigs are in his own county of Cavan. Cavan, Cork and Tipperary are the three counties that would be affected, predominantly. There are pigs dispersed right around the country as well, however, and we should always be cognisant of jobs in rural communities.

The Senator asked who is displacing Irish pig meat in the UK market. The Dutch and Danes would clearly do this. There is price pressure across Europe. There was a major outbreak of ASF in Germany last year. It put pressure on the European price and they were displacing us in that market. The Senator also asked what would happen if the milling sector collapsed. We are here trying to ensure no industry collapses here. We are a united sector, involving farmers, millers and processors, and we want to ensure everybody can survive. It is why we are concerned about the funding.

The Senator also asked about the Brexit adjustment reserve and that fund must be distributed by the end of 2023. The clock is ticking on that. My understanding is that the only funding to which the Minister is committing now is around fishermen and where boats will be tied up. There is a substantial amount of money. The Senator is correct in saying we cannot get as much of our product into the UK market. This is about diversification and we could definitely diversify some of our produce to another market. Bord Bia and everybody else must come on board and have initiatives around that. It is very important.

The Senator also made a point about the €50 million stability fund. We have been very clear and Teagasc has done the calculations. The quantum of money we are speaking about is required. We have a State body indicating that this is the way to do it. I have always said that where there is a will, there is a way. If the Government wants to find a way of doing this, it can be done. We have been very clear coming in here. I was part of the negotiations for a statutory levy in the past. I have heard from the Department that this would require primary legislation but none of the Members in the Oireachtas would object to such primary legislation that would keep a sector alive in Ireland? It is one of the reasons we have heard and these are the obstacles we are currently trying to overcome.

The Senator's final point concerned the potential turn in the market and I am very confident the market will improve. We can look at what has happened globally. There was an increase in the amount of pig meat produced across the world and there was an outbreak of ASF in Europe, particularly Germany and Poland, and there has been a massive reduction in pig production right across Europe. That had an effect of anything up to 3% or 4%, and it might even reach 5%. Traditionally, if we see a reduction across Europe of 1% to 2%, we can see rebalancing in the market. We are now at the point where the industry is ready to turn and it is about getting funding to get us through the cycle. We are coming near to the end of the cycle, which is critical.

The vice chair of the national pigs committee is here and he might want to give his perspective from the farmer's point of view.