Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to address some of the points the Minister made about the dairy crisis. The crisis in 2009 was short lived and thankfully prices bounced back very quickly. Production costs have since increased substantially, but, unfortunately, current price supports have not increased. They are at a level which does not reflect the cost of production. The third difference is that the level of investment on Irish dairy farms is far higher, while the level of debt is far higher than it was in 2009 due to planning for the abolition of quotas. As a farmer, I would welcome abolition of the fertiliser tariff, but if one examines the price paid for fertilisers, it correlates with the level of farm profitability. In 2009 fertiliser prices dropped significantly. We now see them dropping because farmers are reducing the amounts they are purchasing owing to the fall in income. There is definitely a cartel in operation when it comes to fertiliser prices. I would, therefore, welcome abolition of the tariff, but I worry that when prices recover, the vendors of fertiliser will charge what they think farmers can afford. I would welcome an examination of the feasible price of fertiliser. The price follows our ability to pay rather what it is worth.