Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I would not blame the Minister for bad weather or credit him for good weather either. We all have to be realistic. The weather does what the weather does and we cannot control that. Having said that, every effort has to be made to mitigate against it, as far as possible. We have these discussions many times. The fodder crisis can be solved by most farmers on their own farms and that is the best place to solve it. Every assistance should be given to farmers to maximise the fodder they produce themselves. The way farmers manage their own grasslands is the best way of ensuring we can resolve these problems in future.

Some of the measures in place in that regard such as the knowledge transfer scheme have helped with that. It is, ultimately, however, down to the area of the country a farmer is in. Someone farming in County Wexford this year would talk about a need for irrigation. Farmers in Donegal, however, still have a problem with wet soil. It depends on where a person is and what the problems are. That being said, we have been fortunate that the fodder crisis people expected and feared did not materialise. Thank God it did not. We will move on from there as best we can.

A number of other issues were mentioned. Pay was mentioned, as were administration and savings. Most of that is the result perhaps, as the Minister has said, of people retiring and not being replaced as quickly as anticipated. I am conscious farmers in many areas are waiting to get payments and there have been delays. Is the shortage of staff having an impact and is that something that needs to be considered? There is a broader issue in the context of Brexit. I notice there was some shortfall in funding, particularly through An Bord Bia and other agencies. Deputy Pringle mentioned climate change during the discussion earlier and all of that is part of this. We need to look at alternatives and where we are going in the future.

We all know we are the most energy and carbon efficient producers of milk, which is fine. The growth in the volume of milk produced has created a problem as well. That is because of the open market. There is a similar scenario in beef production but that has been decreasing because the market has led to that situation. How much effort has been put into, and how much more effort could be put into, opening up alternative sectors that will mitigate against our carbon emissions? I refer to those not there at present where farmers could do more to help the climate situation while also make a profit for themselves. I refer to a profit they will have today rather one that will be a retirement fund like forestry. That type of profit is long term and far into the future. This is one of the key areas that needs to be looked at.

We are looking at a Vote here today but I am more interested in where we plan to be in ten, 15 or 20 years. That is what we need to consider for the agricultural sector. We can all state what is good now and call for us do more of it. We need, however, to look much further ahead than that because today's bubble might burst. There is great merit in long-term planning in this area. Where is the space in this budget for that long-term planning? I refer to examining the opening up of new sectors and possibilities or taking niche markets and developing them into something that will be progressive and good for new sectors into the future.