Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I have great respect for the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, I am disappointed the Minister is not present, although I compliment him on the good results achieved in the area of DNA testing. There is a major crisis in farming and it is particularly acute in the south which experienced unprecedented rainfall last summer. As a result, many farmers did not manage to make the quantity of silage they make in a normal year. The problem is affecting dairy farmers and high intensity farmers with a high turnover and low margin in particular. We have had a long, cold spring and anyone driving in the countryside will note the grass is brown rather than the normal green colour. Despite the milder weather of the past week, it will be another three weeks before farmers are able to fully turn their cattle out to grass. Many farmers are at breaking point. Some have been pushed so far they have tried to self-harm, while several have done worse.

I ask the Minister to take the simple step of allocating €10 million of his substantial budget for an emergency fodder scheme that would be made available to farmers in severe financial difficulty. Under the scheme, which would be administered by the Department and Teagasc, moneys would be disbursed to farmers in crisis who would be identified on the basis of financial information and the position on the ground in respect of fodder. We should put this issue into context. It costs approximately €7,200 to feed 60 cattle for 20 days and many farmers do not have this sum to meet the cost of feed.

See this speech in context