John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion put forward by Deputies Ó Cuív and Dooley. Like Deputy Dooley, I was outside today with the farmers. In particular, I met farmers from my county of Wexford, one of the most productive farming counties in the country. Government backbenchers made many promises to the farmers outside today and the Minister will have his hands full delivering on all of them and on the promises made to deliver on all of the issues we have asked for in our motion. It was good to see the backbenchers outside, but the Minister has a lot to live up to following the promises made by them today.

Farming is one of the success stories of recent times. Despite the difficult economic climate, farming has been the driver of the economy in recent years and many more young farmers are staying on the land in comparison with some years ago. All of the agricultural colleges are full, because young people see a future in farming and want to remain on the land. It is very important that the Minister encourages and supports younger farmers to remain on the land and become even more productive.

The agrifood sector in Ireland contributes a value of €24 billion to the national economy, generates 6.3% of gross value added and provides over 7.4% of national employment. There are more than 300,000 jobs in the agriculture sector. That signifies the importance of agriculture at present and into the future. Food Harvest 2020 represents one of the good ideas that came from the previous Government. It is now supported by the Minister. It needs practical support.

Many people in the farming and food sectors who want to develop and expand their businesses are encountering a great deal of bureaucracy and red tape. Like people in every sector of the economy, they are finding it difficult to get bank loans. This area needs to be tackled. As we know, the banks are reluctant to allocate loans in any way, shape or form. Their representatives go on radio and television to tell us they are providing loans hand over fist, but that is not the case. I have met many people in the food sector who are finding it difficult to get bank loans without high interest rates. They are also being held back by other areas of red tape and bureaucracy. Many people in the farming sector are also concerned about the prices they are receiving for their products. I am not blaming the Minister for this because it is not his fault. The supermarkets and the people who are purchasing from farmers are squeezing the production sector and farming as a whole. Various Governments have tried to tackle the supermarkets and the multinationals and to change the way they deal with primary producers, but they have not been successful. It is important for us to continue to encourage the paying of a decent price for the products that are on the shelves of supermarkets.

I have raised with the Minister the issue of the Leader programme, which is really at the heart of rural Ireland. I suggested on Question Time a number of months ago that responsibility for the programme should be transferred from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As the Minister knows, many farmers and others in the agriculture sector want to diversify into other products. They are finding it difficult to do so because bureaucracy and red tape are preventing them from getting grant aid under the Leader programme. Given that agriculture and fisheries are at the heart of rural Ireland, responsibility for the Leader programme should have remained with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Deputy Ó Cuív might not agree with the view, which I have always held, that this should be part and parcel of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Some of the roadblocks farmers encounter when they try to diversify into alternative food products should be removed and grant aid should be made available in this area. I ask the Minister to examine this matter again to see how the Leader programme can be made more relevant to rural Ireland and the farming sector. Many farmers in my county who apply for grant aid are told they cannot get it because of rules laid down at EU level. Such difficulties are blocking them from getting grants.

The issue of Common Agricultural Policy reform has been highlighted when agricultural issues have been debated in the Dáil in recent months. The manner in which it is handled is crucial for the future of agriculture in this country. It is important the current €1.6 billion envelope remains in place. From next January, it will be in the Minister's gift to ensure farmers are not short-changed in these negotiations. He will be in the chair at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council when Ireland holds the Presidency of the EU for the first six months of next year. It is important for the Minister to use his good offices and his time in that chair to ensure some of the ideas and suggestions with regard to CAP that are being made at present are thrown out the window. That is necessary if we are to get a CAP reform programme that is relevant to Irish farming. Some of the suggestions that are being made in this regard at present are of major concern to Irish farmers. The high level of concern about CAP is one of the main reasons so many farmers came to Dublin today. Irish farmers are concerned they might be short-changed or might lose out when the future CAP proposals are made.

We have to bear in mind that the decisions that are made with regard to CAP will remain in force for a number of years. If the €1.6 billion envelope is not retained, it will have a serious effect on farming. It could be argued that reductions should be imposed on productive farmers at the higher end. At a time when we want to see productivity in farming and we want agriculture to develop further in this country, surely it is important that cutbacks are not imposed on the productive farmers in my county and other counties who provide the raw materials for the food sector and other sectors in the agricultural community. There is serious concern in this regard. I have attended IFA meetings and public meetings on CAP reform. Many farmers are worried by the threat that CAP will not be what it was in the past, that the overall budget within the EU will be reduced and that agriculture will have to take a higher cut than it did in the past and certainly a higher cut than any other area of the EU budget. It is important for the Minister to use his position as chair of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council to ensure that does not happen.

On the domestic front, the funding for a number of critical farm supports was slashed in the last two budgets in a manner that has limited the capacity of farmers to farm. The new agri-environment options scheme that was announced recently is too limited in scope and in payments. The Government should increase to 8,000 the number of places on the scheme. As Deputy Ó Cuív has suggested, the maximum payment under the scheme should be increased to €5,000. The suckler cow welfare and grassland schemes have played an integral role in improving livestock quality and have formed the backbone of the beef industry. The Minister must quell the rumour that he intends to cut these schemes by ensuring they are fully protected in 2013. It has been rumoured that the Government intends to cut this scheme by reducing significantly the moneys involved. That would also have a devastating effect on the farming community and the beef industry. I hope the Minister will put that to bed in his reply and bring an end to the rumours that are circulating.

I wish to speak about diesel costs. I worked in the oil industry for a long time. The price of oil in this country is far too high, even allowing for the price on the spot market at present. I have always held the view that a cartel is operating in this country's oil industry. The hauliers and farming contractors associations have submitted a number of suggestions to the Minister and his colleagues, the Ministers for Finance and Transport, Tourism and Sport, on how the high cost of oil might be alleviated. The Minister for Finance established a group in his Department to look at the matter, on which the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Environment, Community and Local Government and Transport, Tourism and Sport were represented. We are still waiting for the group's report, which has been completed but unfortunately has not been made public. Certainly, no action has been taken in relation to the report. I am sure the group made some suggestions on how to deal with the problems faced by hauliers, agricultural contractors and farmers. It is important for the report to be made available. The suggestions in the report on how to alleviate these problems should be implemented without any further delay. The cost of diesel is having a serious effect on the haulage and agriculture industries.

The Minister and the Government should take on board the Private Members' motion put forward by Deputy Ó Cuív and let us move forward together to make sure CAP reforms are implemented to the benefit of Irish agriculture and that some of the bureaucracy and red tape that exists at present is taken out of agriculture. The Minister must restore some of the schemes he has cut in the past and put adequate money into schemes to ensure farmers have a viable family farm for the future.

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