Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this debate on the farming and the agriculture sector. It is an important sector to the Irish economy. I will begin with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership because it has been in the news lately. Considerable work was done in recent years by a number of Oireachtas committees, including the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs and the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The conclusion of the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food last year was that TTIP poses opportunities and threats for Irish agriculture and rural life. He said the potential opening of the US market for Irish and other European agricultural produce was welcome. However, he also said it was vital that the stringent food standards employed for produce in the Single Market continue to be adhered to. He said issues such as quotas, food standards, genetically modified organisms and geographical indicators would be closely monitored by the joint committee.

The high standards that Irish farmers adhere to in food safety and traceability must be maintained and protected. The maintenance of high standards in respect of hormone-free produce is important as well. All commentary from Ministers at the various committees has indicated that the outgoing Government is committed to stringently upholding the standards of Irish and European food production in any negotiations or deals done under TTIP. This is important because, while there are opportunities in the dairy sector, the threats to our beef sector must be monitored and evaluated. There must be absolutely no reduction in the hormone regulations laid down under European law in respect of any imports from the United States. It is vital that the next Ministers with responsibility for agriculture and jobs and others who have involvement in TTIP talks are knowledgeable and understand the importance of these areas.

The overarching approved plan for agriculture is Food Wise 2025. The plan aims to increase the value of exports by 85%, up to €19 billion, and increase value added by 70%, up to €13 billion. It also aims to increase the value of primary production by 65%, up to almost €10 billion. The plan aims to support the creation of a further 23,000 jobs in the agrifood sector. These are ambitious targets, but as a nation we can meet them because we have considerable potential in the agriculture and food production sectors. The job creation targets must be met to help our rural and farming communities.

The most important element of the Common Agricultural Policy for Ireland is the direct payment. This amounts to €12.5 billion to be distributed among farmers in the lifetime of the new CAP negotiated by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, during the last Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. There will be a mid-term review of the CAP. It is a difficult question but there will be a major debate about how that mid-term review should look. Within parties, counties, communities and parishes, it is difficult to get agreement on the best approach to CAP. In fairness, on the last occasion the Minister produced what I believe is a fair redistribution mechanism to gradually reduce payments to those on the top rate and increase payments to those on the bottom per hectare payments. That is the accepted aim. We saw a gradual movement of money from east to west. Even within western counties there was movement as well. It was a fairer system because it amounted to an attempt to help those on the lowest incomes and per hectare payments to move up while reducing the allocation to those on higher payments. The corollary is that the Pillar 2 schemes, including the old areas of natural constraint scheme, the disadvantaged areas scheme, GLAS and TAMS, are also available. They are part of the €4 billion rural development programme. GLAS is a follow-on to the AEOS and REPS programmes. There will be a roll-out of GLAS 3 in the autumn. It is important that those who did not get in under Tier 1 and Tier 2 priorities will have access to that. We need to consider the expansion of TAMS to allow for other initiatives such as rainwater harvesting or mats for slatted sheds, which are important in terms of comfort for cattle and health and safety.

The process includes a review of the areas of natural constraint scheme. I had flagged this to the Minister as a major concern because of the altering of boundaries. Any change to boundaries based on the areas of natural constraint scheme could be problematic and would cause concern. That is something we have to be on guard against. The next Minister and the Commission will have to be on guard to ensure this is done fairly and that there is sufficient scope for the Irish authorities to operate.

The beef data and genomics programme caused problems at the outset. There will be a review of this scheme. There was a fear that farmers who for whatever reason had to leave the scheme in the fifth year would have to pay back the moneys received. This has to be examined.

I hope there will be good news soon in respect of live exports to Turkey of up to 80,000 cattle. If a deal is sanctioned for the licensing of boats, veterinary certification, etc., it will be beneficial. Live exports play a vital role in providing competition within the beef sector in this country. The Minister has been at pains to point out on numerous occasions, however, that several European countries are seeking to have the live export trade banned. We should be cognisant of this and ensure the highest and strictest standards for our cattle going to these countries in boats. We need to ensure there are no health issues on those boats that would cause problems during their journey on the high seas or when they reach their ports of destination. It is an important market but there has to be a stringent licensing and veterinary regime in that area.

The sheep sector has traditionally been a low-income sector compared to other sectors. The Government has committed to a hill sheep and lowland payment under the rural development programme. I urged the Minister to introduce that.

There are a number of locally led agri-environment schemes. The hen harrier scheme has already been rolled out. We need to roll out schemes across other areas where there is an interest and where issues are at stake, including pearl mussels. We already have schemes in the Burren area that are important as well as schemes in other areas of the country for matters such as hill walking. These should be looked at too.

The last speaker mentioned delays for young farmers. She is correct. There have been delays in the young farmer payments. The Minister initiated the young farmer scheme. He got support from his European partners during Ireland's Presidency. We led the way with the young farmer scheme. Thankfully, those payments are now being rolled out, although there may be some minor delays.

Designated areas, commonages, hill farms and restricted lands are important. The designations made have led to particular problems. While the relevant farmers have access under Tier 1 and Tier 2 in GLAS, one of my main concerns is that under-grazing - in some cases it is a question of over-grazing - of these areas is leading to a loss of forage hectares. The basis of the initial change in the entitlement regime was to secure a fairer redistribution. However, where there is a loss of hectares because of scrub encroachment and under-grazing, there can be problems. Farmers would expect what they receive to increase under the rules.

Unfortunately, because of the loss of hectares, they do not see an overall increase in the value of money coming to them under the entitlement regime. That has been a concern for some time and needs to be acknowledged. More needs to be done to prevent the erosion of these forage hectares across the sector.

While I welcome schemes such as the Dunkellin scheme in south Galway, there is a lack of joined-up thinking in the Office of Public Works, OPW, or whoever is involved in the opening and lowering of the gates in the salmon weir in Galway which has an impact across the counties of Galway and Mayo on the levels of the Corrib and Lough Mask and has caused flooding problems. The OPW must have a better model for forecasting high levels of rainfall to predict or pre-empt floods and ensure we reduce the levels of the lakes and the flooding. There are significant challenges and opportunities within the agriculture and rural development sector and the next Minister will have his or her hands full to ensure that we optimise the incomes on our farms and within rural Ireland.

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