Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister is on top of this issue. The message has to go out that there has to be a management plan over the next 12 months. While the narrative is often that farmers have it good with good prices for cattle and milk, the real story behind farming is that its costs have gone up in the past two years. Accordingly, we must consider the potential income for farmers over the next 12 to 18 months. Farmers, both small and large, have been hit badly.

The introduction of a means test for the farm assist scheme was a big blow to farmers. It is a dependency social payment and removing this means test should be considered in the next budget. Access to the payment would assist those farmers under severe financial constraints who had to spend more on fodder this year. The moneys they would get under the scheme will ultimately go back into the local economy.

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