Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity and I commend Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív on tabling the motion so we can discuss agricultural issues. Agriculture is one of our main industries and is the backbone of rural communities the length and breadth of the country. Prior to the summer we discussed the beef crisis, and sought a regulator to be put in place so the agricultural sector could have confidence that somebody would be its guardian with regard to the situation which developed in recent months.

This time 12 months ago premium prices were being paid, but the industry almost collapsed in December and January. A major issue arose with regard to flagging dangers and alerting farmers to them. Farmers went in a particular direction producing bull beef, which had been the catchphrase for the previous two or three years. All of a sudden the specifications, guidelines and rules were changed and prices were cut accordingly. I wrote to the Minister in recent weeks with regard to the quality assurance scheme. To be perfectly honest, the response I received explained my letter back to me and stated it was up to other people to deal with the quality assurance scheme. We must examine how it was manipulated to cut prices for farmers as a serious issue arises.

When the Minister called a crisis meeting of all stakeholders in the beef industry on Holy Thursday this year there was a sense that a movement would be made and parameters would be set in place to ensure the viability of farming. That was six months ago but nothing has happened. A huge number of farmers are utterly frustrated with the system. Beef and suckler farmers are looking at their margins which have been absolutely cut. Those on family beef farms tell me if they had any substantial repayments they simply could not meet them. Family dairy farms considering the potential which will exist when quotas go on 1 April next year wonder whether they would be wise to invest. They are very cautious. Some farmers have bought into it and I hope there will be a future for them. The Minister stated he accepted there would be a danger with regard to milk prices in the coming months and farmers are very concerned.

We must examine the level of confidence which exists in the farming sector. Any family beef farms with substantial borrowings, children in school, house mortgages and borrowings for sheds and investments are simply unable to make their repayments. They cannot make them this year. This is the fundamental issue, although we can talk about the beef industry and the excellent product we have, which is renowned the world over and which we have produced for years. Over the past 20 years family farms have bought into regulations to ensure a premium product is on the market.

Deputy Ó Cuív mentioned agri-industry. At the ploughing championships and elsewhere farmers have stated there is too much emphasis on agri-industry and we must pull back to the primary producer. Throughout the country, people on fertile land and marginal land are willing to try to make a living, raise families and keep rural communities going. We have many other industries and ancillary businesses, but if we do not have a viable agriculture industry, whether in dairy, beef or tillage, we will not be able to keep these communities going.

I ask the Minister to deal in his remarks with the special investigations unit of the Department and state whether it will be rebranded or replaced. It has done huge damage. In April or May it went to a farm with minor transgressions regarding cross compliance and almost treated the farmer and his family as absolute criminals.

Other issues arise with regard to red tape and bureaucracy. At the beginning of the CAP negotiations, and when the first draft came out in October or November 2011, everybody in Europe and Ireland stated it was an opportunity to reduce red tape and that farmers had been working under a huge bureaucratic red tape machine for the past 20 years or more. I am sorry to say I cannot see anything in the new proposals which will reduce red tape for family farms; they will probably generate more red tape.

I know of people who wanted to clear some scrubland which had been grazed by cattle for the previous 50 or 60 years but it was described as forestry by the Department. The definitions used by the Department and common sense on the part of officials needs to be examined. Some officials are absolutely excellent in how they deal with farmers, but some take the regulations to the letter of the law and almost delight in putting pressure on family farms.

The core issue is the crisis in the beef industry. Deputy Cowen spoke about the need to take emergency action in the short term and I agree with this. The information I have received from people who keep suckler cows is that they are thinking about changing and looking at other options. Those with larger herds are considering the viability of the sector. Their sons and daughters are choosing not to work on the farms. We must face this crisis. We have stated throughout the world that our beef industry produces a primary product. The suckler cow scheme is very important in this regard and it must be enhanced. Something must be done in this regard. There is no point in having summits in Dublin Castle, which, I believe, have been referred to as "the last supper". It is no longer acceptable as we need real action, such as examining the machinery available through the various treaties of the European Union and elsewhere.

Within the European Union, the various treaties of the European Union or elsewhere, it is time for real action in that regard because many farmers are only coming out of the 2012 and 2013 fodder crisis. Some of them have huge debt overhang. Some of the smaller - and even the larger - merchants and co-ops will outline the figures for what was borrowed to keep the farm going and they are only just coming out of those massive debts.

Based on the weather particularly in my part of the country and probably throughout the country, 2014 has been an exceptional year for farming. One would think that after that farmers would be in good form, but they are anxious and concerned. The people in most danger are those with borrowings, whether it is for their own mortgage, for a shed or for other farm investments. They cannot make their repayments. The banks claim they are lending money to the agri-sector, but I am afraid that they are not. They are binding it up in red tape and pointing to different issues.

The last debate we had in this area was on a regulator for the beef industry. It was shut down and we were told it could not be done. It has to be done. There must be an ard stiúrthóir or somebody to decide whether farmers are getting a fair price. Last week's Irish Farmers' Journalhighlighted a €300 difference between Irish farmers and those in the UK. What is the red tape that is causing is the difference? What needs to be ironed out? What needs to be challenged within the European system-----

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