Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the claim the French Government sought support at the Council of Ministers, while I was not at the recent meeting, I am given to understand that was not the case. There is no appetite in Europe for claims for emergency compensation. At best, the French call was lukewarm.

Tillage in parts of the country has suffered as badly as it did in 1985 and 1986, the last two bad years when it hit all the country. I have 15 acres of grain myself. The harvest was delayed because of weather and the birds did a lot of damage. We did manage to salvage a reasonable crop, however.

The east coast was not as badly affected as the south and west coasts.

There are two big problems with the grain sector, one of which has been masked in recent years by high yield. The first is global prices. These are invariably cyclical but they have been cyclically down for four consecutive years. This year, the problem was compounded by yield. The second issue in the Irish context is the fact that 50% of all crops in the arable sector are on rented or leased land. This is not the best way. The current conacre system is a disaster for farmers. It drives up prices with competition. We do not have any long-term security. Farmers say that every year they have to give a certain price, which is probably the value plus X. If, however, they were in a position to engage in long-term leasing, it would help. The agri-taxation measures taken a couple of years ago were to try to incentivise longer-term leasing to give a certain level of security. Partnerships can be arranged between farmers and landowners such that there is risk-sharing.

The low interest, flexible money is because tillage farmers in particular find the position on working capital and merchant credit really difficult. If they owe a certain pot of money to a merchant on a bank overdraft, it will still remain. If they can get low-interest money, with a six-year loan and an interest-only option for the first few years, they can clear it. If we adopt the principle that the cycle will actually improve, there is a chance that farmers can trade out of this, with the help of other supports. It is very difficult to secure specific funding just for a sector in Europe.

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