Dáil debates

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

11:45 am

Photo of Martin FerrisMartin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

George Lee and the Minister said Sinn Féin was against everything. He said markets in Asia were opening up and everything would be great if Irish farmers could just rise to the occasion.

At the national dairy conference in November of the previous year, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, went so far as to say: "The shackles come off next April and following that we will have an exciting mix of opportunity and challenge for all stakeholders." The shackles came off and the stakeholders, the producers, are the ones on their knees. The ending of quotas at a time of growing world demand was the opportunity of the century for the dairy sector, according to Bord Bia chief executive, Aidan Cotter. It is very easy for Mr. Cotter to say that given that he is earning €150,000 a year. The man with 25, 30 or 35 cows is out throughout the winter in the worst of weather, trying to put bread on the table for his family and trying to make ends meet.

We were told there was an opportunity in markets in China, India and Africa where a growing middle class was seeking sources of healthy protein. Farmers were encouraged to prepare for this bonanza or else they would not be competitive in this growing world market. Irish dairy farmers did what was advised and invested heavily in stock, equipment and buildings in order to rise to the massive opportunity and not be found wanting when it arrived. As Deputies know, many people involved in the tillage sector in the south east went out of tillage and into dairy farming. As a consequence of going into dairy farming, they had to borrow from the very start. They had to borrow to build milking parlours and to put in all the necessary infrastructure to avail of this great bonanza that was being propagated by the senior parties in this House and the leaders of the farming organisations.

I do not have to remind people that we bailed out the banks, against the will of many of us. The banks were encouraging people to borrow and invest, and many farmers took the credit that was offered. I am hearing from farmers that they are getting as little as 22 cent a litre, when to break even they need to make over 27 cent a litre and many would say 30 cent a litre. They now find themselves in trouble with their lenders who are horrified by the predictions that there is no price increase on the horizon until 2017. This means that people who are selling below the cost of production are going further into debt without any real support coming from the Government or the EU and they are being pressurised by the banks.

The problem is made worse by the fact that all dairy farmers are in the same position and, therefore, it is impossible to sell animals to ease the losses as no farmer wants to buy at this time. It is time for the Commissioner, Mr. Phil Hogan, in Brussels to stand up and look for an increase in intervention prices. I support Deputy Cahill in saying that we need a substantial increase in intervention prices.

It is also very important for the Minister to stand up to the big multiples and seek a fair price to get farmers through the difficult times. There is considerable length between the producers and the big multiples. Do we know what the producers are paid by the big multiples? We know what the farmer gets and we know what the consumer pays, but in between we cannot determine. We need to find a mechanism to address that aspect. We know what the producers get for the milk they are buying for 22 cent a litre. We want to know that the multiples are paying the producers. That is where we have to start.

In Britain, some supermarkets are selling chilled milk for a few pence more and passing that on to the farmers, being proactive in ensuring that the farmers will be able to continue. Those big supermarkets are playing a positive role in adding on a few pence a litre which can be observed by the retailer and so forth. At least it gives some help to the farmers.

My colleague in the North, the Minister, Ms Michelle O'Neill, is working with farmers to put pressure on banks and other lenders to be sympathetic and flexible. The Minister, Ms Michelle O'Neill, has written to the banks in Ulster. I have been invited with the Minister, Ms Michelle O'Neill, to go and meet the Ulster banks. Is this happening here, in this part of our country?

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