Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy O'Dowd is not taking the time, so I will take it all. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. I know from the previous Dáil that statements on agriculture often attract a great deal of attention from rural Deputies in particular, which is a reflection of the massive contribution made by our farming families up and down the country and the associated agribusinesses that are the backbone of the rural economy outside our larger urban centres. I specifically want to speak about some of the challenges that are facing farmers in the agriculture sector in my constituency in County Limerick. No more than what previous speakers have said, there is an air of uncertainty in respect of agriculture at the moment, particularly in relation to the price of commodities. There are also other uncertainties that are troubling for the farming community, none more so than the upcoming referendum in the United Kingdom on Brexit and the potential impact that could have on an industry that is so driven by agricultural exports, given that the United Kingdom is one of the biggest export markets for Irish food products. In addition to the impact that would have on the processing facilities and the industries themselves, there is also concern about the impact on individual farming families.

There is a great deal of concern about that and other issues and I suppose that is why the farming community is to the fore at the moment in willing over the line the creation of a new Government, so that the new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, or the incumbent if he remains in situ, would come to terms with many of the issues that are there at the moment and liaise with the farming organisations, which have acted very responsibly in the last number of months in very difficult circumstances. That being said, I congratulate and wish well the newly-elected leadership of the IFA, particularly Richard Kennedy from my own constituency, who was elected deputy president of the IFA. It is a great honour for him and his family and for the IFA in County Limerick, from which he received great support. I have no doubt that the new leadership of the IFA will try to bring the organisation with them. It is very important for rural Deputies that we have strong farming organisations. The ICSA and the ICMSA, together with the IFA and Macra na Feirme, have over the last few years since I became a Member of this House engaged very positively in relation to the issues that affect farming families and particularly young farmers who are trying as best they can to make a livelihood for themselves and their families.

Another issue that affects my own constituency relates to the training of young farmers. We are very fortunate in County Limerick to have the Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry. I have raised this issue before in the last Dáil with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and I will continue to raise it. It relates to the resources that are available for teaching staff in our agricultural colleges. It is not that long ago that there was a question mark over the future of our agricultural colleges and whether they had a sustained future, because if a farmer was not building houses, selling sites and driving around in a jeep trying to sell more houses to their neighbours, there was a perception in rural areas that they were not a success. Now, luckily, farming is back as a core industry, along with tourism, in which young women and men can see a future for themselves. That is very important because it is what has driven the intake of students into colleges like Pallaskenry, but it has also put pressure on existing teaching resources. From that point of view, I would like to see greater emphasis on the training and continuing professional development of our young farmers in particular. The Minister of State, Deputy English, is also from a rural constituency.

Another issue I have raised before with the Minister relates to land mobility and the transfer of land particularly from one generation to the next, and the ease of the creation of farm partnerships. I know the last Government made great efforts in this regard through tax consolidation measures and in the extension of farm tax reliefs in terms of stock reliefs and so on, but we need to do more. It is a well-established fact that the average field in Ireland moves much slower in terms of land mobility than the average field in France. If we are to attract that generation of younger people into farming as a profession and to encourage them to build their capabilities and their output, which has happened in respect of the abolition of quotas has had a knock-on effect on the supply of milk in particular, we do need to back those measures up with supports. The supports that are very obviously to the fore in that regard are the tax supports, in terms of land mobility in particular.

Another issue I would like to raise which has bedevilled the farming community in west Limerick in particular and also in north-east Limerick relates to land designation by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which has a significant impact on the use of land. I have said it in the House before in the last Dáil: I thank the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, for the work he has done in respect of a locally led environmental scheme for the hen harrier. There was a time, back between 2011 and 2013, when I was the only Deputy who raised that issue, to much humour from some Deputies, who thought it was something to do with a cross between a military aircraft and some sort of endangered species. However, it was no laughing matter for the people who were affected by it, no more than the people who had land with the pearl mussel and a whole clatter of other things that were designated. The difficulties associated with farming in those areas is profound. The farmer's land is essentially worthless. It is rendered worthless by designation. There is an onus on the new Government coming in. There has been a great deal of chatter about things that are of importance. Some of the stuff that is out there as being at the top of the list in terms of importance was never raised at a door with me anyway, so I do not know what kind of a constituency I live in. The issues faced by people whose land is designated for some sort of special protection area, or under whatever sort of European directive cannot continue into the future without adequate compensation for the fact that these people's constitutional right to enjoy their land is essentially being infringed upon by a designation over which they have no influence whatsoever. Their land is essentially worthless - they cannot drain it, they cannot till it, they cannot build on it, they cannot cut it and they cannot plant it. The former Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, was very anxious that something would be done about the whole element of forestry, either in respect of deciduous trees or low-density conifers, in these areas as well.

We have to start looking at these things much faster. It is five years since myself and Deputy Michael Creed from Cork North-West first met the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht regarding the hen harrier. We have made progress, but it has been painfully slow and I would like to see the new Ministers, whoever is responsible for the National Parks and Wildlife Service and whoever is responsible for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, take a far more aggressive approach to dealing with these issues in relation to designation. EU designation is fine in terms of its implementation from Brussels, but it has a totally different impact on the ground for farming families, who essentially see their assets vanish in front of them. No bank manager will want to see someone coming in with the deeds of a farm with a hen harrier designation on it or with pearl mussel or anything like that, so there has to be some degree of compensation. I know we are in a constrained environment financially, fiscally and everything else - in terms of fiscal space and every other sort of space - but those people cannot be forgotten about.

Finally, in respect of the future of Irish agriculture, we are very fortunate that Ireland is renowned around the world for the welcome we give and the food we produce. The Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, has been very anxious to see a future for Irish produce in the new markets that are emerging in the far east and in the BRIC countries. Our new Government needs to be unapologetic, so that we use every possible opportunity, whether it is St. Patrick's Day or whatever. Regardless of the people in this House who will moan about people going overseas, it should be part of the remit of every Minister in the new Government to promote Ireland as a place in which to holiday and invest, but also to promote Irish food as something that can be consumed as a safe product. There is nothing wrong with Irish food. That comes as a result of responsible farming and as a result of inspections, which may in some cases be overzealous.

However, the inspection regime we have means that when we have a crisis - be it regarding horsemeat or a contaminant - we know exactly where our food is reared, what goes into it and who is responsible for it and we can deal with a crisis before it becomes an emergency. That is important. I know there are concerns around inspections, but if one talks to individual farmers, they will say it is important to know what we are consuming as that is why Irish farmers and Irish food can command the price they can.

I wish the incoming Minister with responsibility for agriculture well in the role, and it may very well be the incumbent. This is a multi-billion euro industry. It sustains hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout Ireland. At a time when we have a lack of proper regional development and a lack of balance, agriculture has again retaken its place. There was a time between 1997 and 2011 when the only time one heard of agriculture was when something was going to be taken out of it. Now at least we have an attitude that agriculture and tourism are two of the vital pillars that will revitalise rural Ireland. I wish the new Minister well.

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