Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For the past month or three weeks there has been enormous pressure on agriculture. People say there have been 12 dry days since 23 July 2017 resulting in a crisis. The agriculture industry is fantastic. Yesterday, my constituency colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, announced the reopening of the Chinese market. Many people, officials, Ministers and successive Governments have worked extremely hard for a long time to get everything right but none more so than the farmers, the primary producers, who have adhered to the highest possible regulations in the way they conduct their business. The majority of farmers are excellent at what they do and produce a top quality product. We must make sure we have sustainable agriculture.

Yesterday, at a Dairygold meeting, a farmer told me that the former Minister in the Department, Deputy Coveney, had said six or seven years ago that there were exciting prospects for agriculture. There was nothing exciting about it yesterday when 2 inches of rain were falling. Herds face health challenges and farmers and their families are under real pressure. The weather pattern is that when autumn is very wet there will be a late spring, although this is not scientific. The Department has to have a unit to prepare for this type of crisis. It is only five years since the last one. There was one in 1985-86 and in 1998-99. The crisis needs to be considered holistically and not just in an immediate way.

See this speech in context