Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the representatives from the Commission, who are here this evening to discuss this really serious issue of fertiliser prices and how we will deal with that going forward.

I want to ask about the tariffs pertaining to fertiliser. In his comprehensive statement, I do not believe Mr. Santini mentioned the dumping tariffs that are in place at the moment in the European Union. Could he go over the amounts that these tariffs will involve and what plans the European Commission has for dealing with them going forward? Dumping tariffs are part of our policy with the European Commission over the years. It is unusual, to say the least, that we would have a scenario whereby we have a tariff on a product coming into the European Union that has significantly increased in price.

To give Mr. Santini an idea of how prices have increased in Ireland, today I quoted urea fertiliser at €905 per tonne. I quoted the same product this day last year for €314 per tonne. I quoted calcium ammonium nitrate, CAN, today for €700 per tonne. I got it for €205 last year. That is a dramatic increase. If we were to take an average dairy farmer in Ireland with 79 cows, we would be talking about an increase of nearly €25,000 alone in the incoming product of fertiliser for the year. It is very hard to see how we are going to have price inflation to cover that. It is, therefore, a really significant issue. Mr. Santini might go over what he believes can be done and how the tariff issue can be looked at going forward.

Supply of product coming into the European Union or Ireland is probably one of the key issues here. What work has the Commission done to ensure that there will be a suitable product supply coming into the European Union and Ireland? Let us take into consideration the fact that two thirds of all fertiliser will be spread between now and 1 June. Either it is sorted now or it will not be sorted. That is our growing period and that is a really significant time lag when it comes to Ireland.

Mr. Santini referred to work pushing forward for food security and where that will go. What work has been done in respect of fodder security going forward? I refer to feed for the animals. We can have a reduction in spreading of compound fertilisers of anything up to 20% in Ireland and probably the same across Europe. What work has been done to make sure we have enough fodder in the European Union and Ireland? We are very much aware that in 2018, we had an issue regarding fodder. We had to import it from France. I am very concerned about what forward thinking the Commission has done to ensure we will not have the same scenario. Any cutback in product will result in a cutback in the amount of fodder available and the knock-on effect could have a real issue regarding our national herd.

Mr. Santini touched on the issue of finance and the availability of certain funds. The biggest issue for farmers is the ability to get finance to buy fertiliser over the next six-week period. In terms of banking institutions, co-operative societies and the State, what ability does the farmer on the ground now have to access finance to ensure he or she gets the product? Without that, he or she is then stuck in this scenario that he or she cannot get the grass growth that is required.

The Chairman rightly mentioned the issue of fixed milk prices. Mr. Santini mentioned that issue but the real issue here is that the farming community did not have the ability to forward buy fertiliser for three years. They were given a 60-day or 80-day period of quotation while they were selling their milk for a three-year period. There is a body of work the Commission needs to do about that. If farmers should have the ability to move their risk by selling milk on for a three-year period, surely the opposite should be applicable regarding buying in the concentrates required for the product itself over a three-year period. This engagement with the Commission is really important because when we talk to our agricultural community, this is the single biggest issue at the moment. We have a price increase that will not cover this. We need a banking institution that will need to step in to cover the financial concerns. The time bomb is ticking, however. From now until 1 June, two thirds of all our fertiliser will be spread. The real issue here is what research is being done regarding supply and if we do not have that supply, what research is being done regarding the fodder issue?

Where are we going with the tariffs? What is being done at European Union level on the tariffs? Where are we going to go to finance this product? If we cannot finance it, we cannot have a sustainable industry going forward.