Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are serious management challenges with the management of last winter and the management of the current crisis. We now must manage to ensure we minimise the likelihood of this happening again. We are addressing issues concerning medium-term planning through the farming organisations and Teagasc, as well as getting support from the co-ops. Many of the co-ops are making interest-free funds available to farmers to buy fertiliser for May and they may extend these beyond should it be necessary. The accusation that we need to set up a task force in the middle of this while we are managing it effectively, given the challenges that exist, is nonsense. There is essentially a task force already in place in my Department which works across the Department and the agencies involved.

We are doing everything we can to intervene where there are extreme situations. I encourage farmers to use the freefone number, 1850-211990. We are continuing to import and subsidise fodder. We will not extend the date beyond this Friday. Instead, any fodder importer, mainly the co-ops, which has proof of purchase of fodder before this Friday can continue to bring it into the country into next week and the week after. I want to keep the pressure on to get as much fodder purchased and imported into Ireland as quickly as possible so as not have a drip-feed management through the summer. We have been in consultation on this with the co-ops and the farming organisations which understand this point about keeping the pressure on getting as much fodder purchased and brought into Ireland as quickly as possible. This is the reasoning behind keeping deadlines intact.

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