Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak on the motion and I want to commend the Deputies in Fianna Fáil for bringing it forward. I have to admit I have a conflict of interest as I am a suckler cow farmer. Going back many years, when I took over the running of the farm, a wise neighbour told me, "Remember one thing, Collins, farming is from the shoulders up, and not down." My God, was that man ever so right in all of his life. Like many of my neighbours and friends who were reared in rural Ireland, I foolishly dreamed of working the farm and being able to live off the farm but, like many more, only for having an outside income to fund the farm, that same farm would be gone by now.

Farm incomes have been cut time and again down through the years. Last year, we saw the grain farmers doing a sit-in at Agriculture House, protesting at the crisis they found themselves in where they had been cut year after year. In my view, it was scandalous that they were left there, day after day, without any acknowledgement. I am particularly unhappy that in my county of Cork, where there were 86 applicants for compensation among grain farmers - although in my view it was poor compensation - only 32 of those farmers have been paid to date. This proves the compensation was over-complicated and very difficult to qualify for. The milk sector has gone through a good year, which was welcome after many years of hardship. However, as we all know, dairy farmers have huge costs, which leads to a lot of stress on farmers.

The Mercosur trade deal is make or break for Irish suckler farmers. In the current Mercosur trade talks, the EU’s latest offers would see Mercosur countries being allowed to export 70,000 tonnes of beef into the EU, while we are aware that the Mercosur countries are looking to be allowed to export 100,000 tonnes per year. Even at the figure of 70,000, this will have a detrimental effect on European and Irish beef producers. There is also a danger that it will expose customers to health risks.

The suckler farmers have been continuously hit for years, with no voice in the political system working for them. A recent report by Teagasc states that the price of weanlings was down 4% last year. That is the difference between sinking and swimming for many suckler farmers. Payments for many farmers have been held up, in particular with GLAS and its so-called computer glitches. Many farmers are being unfairly treated and refused payments due to fires having been started on their lands due to no fault of their own. The area of natural constraint payment was cut in 2008 and that cut has not yet been restored ten years later. I would support any introduction of a €200 payment for a suckler cow grant. If this is to be introduced, however, the Minister should stop codding Irish farmers. If he is going to give some kind of payment to farmers, he should stop complicating it like the grain compensation and everything else, making it almost impossible for farmers to get the compensation. That kind of a system has to stop. The Minister should simplify the payment. He should work with the farmers, not against them.

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