Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the advances in the basic payment scheme. However, farmers would have been getting that anyway. They know that money is coming and they have already budged for it. The farming supplement of theIrish Independenttoday reports that prices are plummeting in the cattle trade because of the bad weather. Many farmers realise that they cannot keep their cattle as they will not have the fodder for them and they cannot put them out on the grass because the land is too wet. This is an annual crisis. Last year we had a similar situation. It did not develop to as bad a situation as farmers had feared. Some, however, were left in a dicey situation and found it hard to get enough fodder to get through the winter. Many parts of the country are currently waterlogged and farmers cannot get their cattle out. They have housed them. They have not got the fodder and they cannot do anything about it. It is time to look slightly differently at this issue. I appreciate that the Minister said last year he would deal with it on a case by case basis but it will need something a little more focused on this occasion to ensure it is sorted out. We need to see a fodder aid scheme put in place for farmers where there is clear evidence they have what could turn into an animal welfare crisis, which we do not want to see happen. It is quite appropriate for the State to step in to ensure an animal welfare crisis of this nature does not develop.

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