Dáil debates

Tuesday, 2 December 2008

7:00 pm

Photo of James BannonJames Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleague, Deputy Creed, for tabling this important motion, which was necessitated by the extraordinary cutbacks imposed on the already hard hit agricultural sector. The Minister's actions are set to impact adversely on the viability and sustainability of rural Ireland.

Shame on the Minister for the way he has treated farmers, especially those in the sheep sector who have been protesting outside the Department for the past week for their due entitlements that were promised by the Government. Strangely, but perhaps it was indicative of his state of mind in October last when announcing the budget cutbacks, the Minister described them as "strategic and targeted". If by that he meant measures aimed at a sector that his predecessor brought to its knees and targeted at the least able to sustain the attack, I suppose he was right.

I hope the Minister had an extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing meeting with the EU Council of Ministers the week before last when rural development and investment aid for young farmers was under discussion. Young farmers in other states will qualify for a boost of €70,000 while aspiring Irish farmers will have to make do without even the Minister's Scrooge-like version, a once-off payment of €15,000 for installation aid, as that has been axed in budget 2009. In his wisdom the Minister proclaimed that our young farmers could do without it.

At a time when it is imperative to attract young, well-educated and highly trained farmers into the industry, the Minister has shamefully and short-sightedly cut this important aid package. Providing the best possible education and set up opportunities for young farmers is the key to giving agriculture a competitive edge. I call on the Minister to reverse his cynical decision to penalise those young people who would do so much to inject new ideas and enthusiasm into a sector that is demoralised by Government mismanagement of hard-pressed taxpayers' money and hard hit by bureaucracy and red tape. The knock-on effect of the cutback will be increased emigration from rural areas, resulting in a return to the days when parishes were decimated and could not field a football team. Instead of looking to modernise the farming sector the Minister is dragging it backwards to the 1980s.

I represent the constituency of Longford-Westmeath, which is part of the disadvantaged Border, midlands and west, BMW, region and I am shocked by the cutbacks to the disadvantaged areas scheme. The loss of €1,055 as a result of the budget may be small change to the Minister but it is the difference for many in the farming sector between survival or being driven off the land.

I call on the Minister to reverse his decision. It is within his gift to do that and to reallocate the increased funds diverted from the single farm payments in order to restore installation aid, the farm retirement scheme and the disadvantaged areas scheme.

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