Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, for coming to the House to debate this important issue. The decline in Common Agricultural Policy funding means that the issue of price has to take centre stage. I have been telling the Minister for three years that it is absolutely vital for him to realise that the price issue cannot be left simply to market forces. The reality is that there has been a significant decline in the price of milk, which is currently 22% lower than it was in July 2014. The decrease we have had here is slightly bigger than the average decrease of 18% across the EU. I will put that in monetary terms. According to the ICMSA, every cent that is cut from the farmgate milk price is costing the average farmer between €3,000 and €6,000 per annum. For the average dairy farmer, that means a loss of approximately €30,000, which is a huge amount of money. Given that the processing cost is 28 cent per litre, it is clear that we are approaching the point at which no profit will emerge from the production of a litre of milk. People with low gearing ratios who have been in farming for a long time can probably ride it out, but this is a significant challenge for people who have got into very heavy investments. I will elaborate on the major worry in this regard. We see the uncertainty in the world. Russia imposed a sudden ban because of things that could not have been foreseen three or four years ago. I will explain what the Minister has allowed to happen. The intervention price in the EU is 20 cent a litre. We need a safety net at 28 cent a litre. In other words, the intervention price should be 28 cent a litre. An intervention price of 20 cent is nonsensical because that is the world market price anyway. One can always sell one's product at that low level.

We have seen a massive decline in sheep prices. I know the Minister of State will probably read the same answer that she was given to read in the Seanad yesterday, when she spoke about technology adoption programmes and everything else. We could have a big debate about EU schemes, but tonight is not the night for it. Therefore, the Minister of State can skip that part of her reply. The issue here is price. In other words, farmers want to get their price in the market. I am particularly interested to know what the Minister, Deputy Coveney, intends to do on two issues. If he does not make sure there are constant live exports to provide for competition in the market, we will be in a bottleneck situation where the market is controlled by a very small number of processors. This is particularly concerning because we do not have a food ombudsman here like they have in Britain. I have two questions. First, can the Government ensure we get the full capacity for live exports? We need to have markets for live exports, and live exports need to be facilitated in every way. Second, can the Government confirm my understanding that if one sends a 25 kg lamb into the factories to be killed, one will be paid for just 21.5 kg?

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