Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will make a few points in the two minutes I have. The Minister should be proactive and behave in an anticipatory fashion in future. He should set up a national farm emergency group that would include the Minister, Teagasc, Met Éireann and the major farming organisations and co-operatives in order to anticipate problems such as this as they come down the line.

It is too late for this year but for next year and the year after, it is very important. Climate change is here to stay. Long wet winters are going to be the norm rather than the exception. We have to anticipate that there will be fodder crises. We may even have to change farming practices and look at stocking numbers and the way in which we feed cattle in the future. It is important that we act in an anticipatory fashion. From a parochial point of view, Shannon Airport is making its grasslands available for cutting. This could yield between 1,500 and 2,000 bales. The transport subsidy that is available should be allowed to be claimed through the co-ops; individual farmers should not be claiming it. There should not be an upfront payment from farmers.

Shannon Airport is a community-based airport and it should be recognised for what it is about to do for the farming community. The farmers should not be required to pay upfront for the transport of the fodder. It is also important that low-interest loans, or the facility for such loans, should be made available to farmers in the context of feeding their animals. There should be a hardship fund which should be adequate and easily accessible to farmers.

From a medical point of view, farmers are under huge mental stress - not only the families but the farmers themselves. This has to be recognised because farming is a cross-sectoral industry.

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