John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to address a number of issues on a budget that obviously was rushed and so poorly thought-out that the old, the young and the farming community in particular have been forced to take to the streets to fight for their rights. The bringing forward of the budget by eight weeks was meant to demonstrate the Government was in control of significant problems in the economy and was willing and able to deal with them in a fair and equitable manner. What has emerged, rather, is a badly thought-out document, which uses as its prime target the most vulnerable, the elderly, students and farmers. As I already have spoken on the education issue, I wish to turn my attention to the cutbacks in the budget pertaining to farming.

The farming industry is a sector of the economy that has taken and survived many hits over the years. While manufacturing, construction and some service industries have come and gone, farming has managed to withstand more downturns than most. It has had its good days but these have been far outnumbered by the difficulties it has faced. Farmers have seen the prices they receive for their produce fall while the price paid by the consumer has rocketed in some cases. For example, earlier this year grain farmers were obliged to accept a large reduction in price for their barley from Diageo. Concurrently however, Diageo increased the price the same farmers were obliged to pay for a pint of Guinness for the third time within a brief period.

I wish to refer to a few of the savage cutbacks in the budget that, if implemented, will drive people from the land. If this is allowed to happen at this time, it will have far greater consequences than would have been the case a few years ago, when there were opportunities available in other sectors, such as the construction industry in particular, and young farmers had a choice. The only choice the proposed changes will leave them with is the emigrant aeroplane or ship.

First, the installation aid for young farmers, which was an incentive for the young population to get into farming, was axed. The €15,000 grant has been withdrawn just when it is most needed to provide a sustainable job. One often hears of the enormous cost of each job created in the manufacturing industry. Although such jobs now are announced only rarely, their cost far exceeds €15,000 per job. Earlier, I read a document in which the creation of every job by the IDA is estimated to cost approximately €60,000, which is far removed from the moneys needed for the installation aid.

Last week, I was visited in my clinic by a mother who last year convinced her son not to take up a job offer from Mayo County Council, in order that he might do the course to qualify for the green certificate and become a qualified farmer. Although he now has a green certificate, he is not entitled to installation aid because he had not completed all the documentation for his application and has no immediate prospect of a job outside farming. It has been suggested that this scheme merely has been suspended. However, even were the scheme to be restored, this would be of little use to the aforementioned young man who, being just within the allowable age limit at present, would be too old. Members have been told the average number of take-ups of this scheme is 800 per annum. The announcement of such a number of jobs in any other sector of the economy at present would be the cause of a national celebration. Members should remember the total cost to the Government was only €7 million, or €8,750 per young farmer, as the remainder of the cost was met by Europe.

The cuts in the disadvantaged area payment in the budget also will have detrimental effects on the smallest and weakest farmers. In my constituency of Mayo, farmers on the maximum 45 hectare limit will lose €1,300 per year. If that loss is added to the cutback in the suckler cow welfare scheme, the average farmer in Mayo will be at a loss of a minimum of €2,500. This will cost the farmers of County Mayo alone millions of euro. The budget seems intent on shutting down farming as a career in rural Ireland. Fairness and equity were promised in the budget and a strong case exists for a reversal of some of the aforementioned measures, both to support young people to take up jobs that await them and in the interests of fairness, equity and economic sense.

I will conclude by noting I already have spoken about education cutbacks. I attended a meeting last week in Claremorris of 1,500 farmers at which the anger and dejection were palpable. One must not forget that not alone are farmers losing money in the aforementioned cutbacks, as mothers and fathers they will be obliged to fork out the additional hundreds of euro for school transport, school books and all the grant aid that has been taken from them in the education cutbacks. In addition, these are the same people who will be affected by the cuts in the health budget, the home care packages and so on. I will sum up the budget by asking the reason the vulnerable have been hit to such an extent.

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