Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome that, one must consider what has happened already in 2018. There was a terrible fodder crisis last spring and the weather was appalling. In fact, we did not have a spring as it seemed winter went into summer. Farmers were initially unable to get fodder. In the Minister's own part of the country, the dairy sector was severely affected. There is now a beef price crisis. Farmers are under attack financially on all fronts and while I welcome the clarification the Minister has provided this morning, I urge him to put the fund in place as quickly as possible. Farmers will not be able to continue farming without having that financial planning in place. Such planning must be assisted by Government given the threats facing farmers. There is uncertainty from Brexit and there is no doubt that there will be challenges from CAP. A financial crisis on top of all that makes it next to impossible for farmers to continue to work at their trade.

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