Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

“That Dáil Éireann:

notes:

— the almost one million suckler cow herd kept on over 75,000 farms;

— how the suckler sector is a vital component of Ireland’s rural economy and a wealth enabler, with every €1 of support provided to suckler farmers generating over €4 of economic activity in rural villages, towns and parishes;

— the suckler herd underpins Irish beef exports of €2.5 billion annually;

— that suckler farmers continue to depend exclusively on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) direct payments for their livelihoods with average incomes just below €13,000, according to Teagasc;

— the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Irish beef herd;

— Brexit poses one of the biggest ever threats to suckler farmers, exporters and beef sector jobs, with over 50 per cent of all beef exports to the UK;

— the ‘Ireland and the Impacts of Brexit’ report prepared for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, which shows a reduction in Irish beef exports of 35 per cent by 2030 in a World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff scenario;

— how the Beef Forum has become a talking shop and failed to deliver for farmers;

— the ‘Cumulative economic impact of future trade agreements on EU agriculture’ report by the European Commission, which illustrates how additional beef imports from South American Mercosur countries would reduce prices by up to 16 per cent and cost the European Union (EU) beef sector an estimated €5 billion annually;

— that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine underspent its expenditure budget by €106 million in 2016 and €78 million in 2017; and

— the significant underspend across several schemes under the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP); and

calls on the Government to:

— deliver a fully funded, fair, and simpler CAP post-2020 that safeguards direct payments with measures to directly support all low-income sectors including sucklers;

— protect suckler farmers and the beef sector in all upcoming EU trade deals and reject increased beef access in any potential agreement with South American Mercosur countries;

— work towards introducing a €200 payment per suckler cow via the current BDGP;

— seek EU recognition of the negative impact of Brexit, and any Mercosur deal on suckler farmers’ incomes, and request funding supports including CAP market disturbance funds, while increasing market diversification supports;

— secure additional funding in the next CAP programme to achieve a suckler cow support payment of €200 per cow; and

— instruct the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to review the current underspend accruing across several 2014-2020 RDP schemes and report back within two months to the Oireachtas on a roadmap towards targeting RDP underspend to suckler and other vulnerable sectors;

— such a review to outline the specific progress to date on the participation and expenditure targets set originally for the following schemes over the 2014-2020 RDP window:-

— GLAS (Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme): €1.4 billion committed and 50,000 participants targeted (February 2015);

— BDGP: €300 million committed and 35,000 participants targeted (May 2015);

— Knowledge Transfer Scheme: €100m committed and 27,000 participants targeted (May 2016);

— TAMS (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes) II: €395 million committed (April 2015);

— Sheep Welfare Scheme: €100 million committed (December 2016); and

— Hen Harrier Programme: €25 million committed (December 2017).”

I hope that after the debate on this motion tonight we will see the Government for once change its tack on the level of support being given to Ireland's suckler cow beef sector. Up to now, unfortunately, we have seen unwillingness from the Government to actually recognise the need to provide that support.

This is a crucial sector. It underpins Ireland's €2.5 billion beef exports. More than 70,000 farm families are involved in the suckler cow sector and depend on it for their income. For every €1 invested in the suckler cow beef sector there is a €4 return to the local economy in which the farm families play such a crucial role.

Fianna Fáil has supported this measure for a long time and it was part of our manifesto during the last general election. I put it to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, that this is a measure we want to see delivered. This is being strongly advocated by the farming organisations. I welcome to the Public Gallery a delegation from the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, led by their livestock chairman, Mr. Angus Woods. I also welcome to the Public Gallery the president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, Mr. Patrick Kent. I acknowledge the tremendous work and campaigning by the Irish Farmers' Journaland the IFA as part of that campaign, led very much by the Irish Farmers' Journalbeef and suckler editor, Mr. Adam Woods.

I shall outline the key parts of the motion that we have put before the Minister. My party members will speak on this and I know we will receive strong support from Sinn Féin and other Members in the Dáil. The motion focuses first of all on the need to support the suckler herd. The motion calls for us to look at the underspend in the rural development programme so we can increase the funding available to the beef data genomics programme, towards €200 in this current CAP. The motion also calls for the introduction of a support of €200 per suckler cow within the next CAP programme. Given the pressure that will be on the beef sector as a result of Brexit, and also as a result of Mercosur, the Minister needs to seek additional funds to target the sector because it is especially exposed.

The motion also highlights the importance of a strongly-funded CAP programme from 2020 onwards, and it highlights the importance of the Government contributing to that and ensuring it is delivered at EU level. The motion calls for the Government to row back and refute the moves we see at EU level to introduce and agree a beef non-tariff rate quota with Mercosur countries. This is already being offered at 70,000 tonnes, and it will end up at a higher figure if a deal is done. Unfortunately, the Minister's answers to my parliamentary questions up to this point indicate that the 70,000 tonnes is pretty much going to be agreed and accepted de factoas part of that deal. This will have grave repercussions for our beef sector.

The motion looks for a clear and comprehensive review of the rural development programme and the underspend in this regard.

It sets a deadline of two months for the Minister, working with his Department, to fully review the spending that has already occurred within the rural development programme, programme by programme, and to revert to the Dáil with a clear outline as to how targets are being met, or not being met, as is unfortunately the case. We can then, as a Dáil, work to ensure that money is spent and is targeted towards the suckler cow in terms of increasing funding to the beef data genomics programme and the areas of natural constraint programme.

I just want to touch on the level of underspend across a few of the programmes. When the Government announced the GLAS programme, it committed to spending €1.4 billion. As of now it has only spend €300 million. Some 78% of the commitment remains unspent. It is clear from the replies I have received to parliamentary questions that by the end of 2020-2021, the Department will only have spent €1 billion of that funding, leaving a €400 million shortfall. Similarly, targets under the beef data genomics programme, the knowledge transfer programme and the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, have not been met and there will be an underspend in these areas. We believe that underspend should be targeted towards the suckler cow. In terms of funding the €200 per head payment, the Minister needs to get fresh money as part of the next CAP in light of Brexit and Mercosur.

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