Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate and also to wish Deputy McEntee well. It is appropriate that she would speak on a matter close to her and her family's heart, namely, agriculture.

I welcome that there have been some productive contributions from Members on all sides of the House, particularly Deputy Billy Kelleher's contribution. It contained some solid proposals that should be taken on board.

The simple, politically popular move to make would have been to establish a fund for €10 million, set up a special unit, take forever to administer it, and use only half the money. That is what would have happened, and the animals that needed the fodder would not have got it.

A sensible, cost-effective method of ensuring that fodder became available and was directed to the animals that needed it, and that did not distort the price of the fodder, was to establish a travel subsidy scheme and bring together the people who are linked most closely with the farmers and who knew where the animal feed was needed. The Minister, through his Department and the co-operatives, was able to identify where the fodder was needed. The co-operatives had the wherewithal to source the product, the hay, the haylage and the maize, get it into the country because they had the ability to do that, make sure it was distributed, and claim a subsidy. The fodder was not inflated in price although as has been mentioned, already we can see that an unfortunate consequence of this crisis is a rush for grass to provide enough feed for next winter.

When one farms in a valley 700 ft. above sea level, not 50 km from here, there is a saying that one should have hay until 10 May. This year, I sent fodder to Mallow.

Some of the most productive parts of the country have been caught out the most, because we have stretched our capability without a safety net. There is a lesson to be learned from that. Teagasc has pushed the notion of production and efficiency, based on a model that must be examined.

Deputy Kelleher's comment on nitrates is important. We should look at non-traditional ways of using land to provide fodder, including through brassica crops such as kale and rape. These could be used to provide cattle with feed and keep them out for longer.

We need a rub of the green with regard to the weather. In 1984, I remember people saying it was the third good summer in a row and we would continue to have good summers because this was a change in our climate. However, in 1985 our harvest was decimated. In 1986, we had Hurricane Charlie and were wiped out. In May of 1986 there was not a blade of grass until the end of that month, because the north-east wind cut down every blade of grass on the east coast. I was farming then and know how much that cost me. One man said it cost him eight bullocks and a horse to pay for his winter nuts. This was 26 or 27 years ago. This is not new. These things happen and what we must do is learn to provide.

I take on board Deputy Calleary's suggestion. Perhaps we should invite Teagasc to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and ask it how it plans to advise farmers to provide enough and a little more. Perhaps we need to look at the issue of nitrates. We may need to look at the closing dates for the spreading of nitrogen, dung and slurry. We need to be quick to react to these needs.

The fact that there is an emergency fund in place means there is no need for any animal in the country not to be fed. Besides the main €1 million transport subsidy scheme, a fund exists for hardship cases. People have suggested there should be a special unit to deal with the banks. With all due respect to senior officials in Departments, the banks will answer to the Minister. The Minister of the day is elected and appointed to do his or her job and he or she is responsible. There is no point in trying to divest responsibility to somebody else; the buck stops with the Minister. I would like to compliment the Minister on taking a hands-on approach to this issue.

We need to learn from this crisis. REPS 4 has paid out almost all of its money - €166 million - to all bar a couple of hundred farmers. I urge those people not to rush to the auctioneers to compete with one another for grass that will be too dear next year. We must learn that lesson.

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