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

They are very fair questions. It would be irresponsible of me to start outlining the terms of what will be, in effect, a commercial loan facility for farmers. The idea would be that they would be made available at more competitive rates than are currently on offer. I have said many times that if one considers the current volume of lending by Irish banks into agriculture, in particular dairy, one will find it is very significant. I do not think it is as competitive as it could or should be compared with what farmers have available to them in other parts of Europe. We are encouraging the introduction of new financial products for Irish farmers. Only this week we announced a €50 million fund for the latest dairy TAMS product, TAMS II. There will be significant uptake of that, but we should not forget that people have three years to spend the money on their farms. There is no mad rush. People should apply and look for the best financial products. More financial products will be available before the end of the year.

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