Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The concept of the sector being under potential stress and pressure is ridiculous. They are under stress and pressure as it is. This statement from Mr. Gove this morning is adding to this stress and that pressure. What has the Government done in the last number of years to get access to other markets to reduce our dependence on the UK market? I put a question to the Minister, Deputy Creed, on lairage in Cherbourg and I got an answer back from him on Tuesday evening more or less shrugging his shoulders and stating that while there is an issue, it can be resolved privately.

There needs to be a lot more proactivity and involvement on the part of the Government in dealing with blockages in the system. There needs to be a lot more proactivity on the Government's part in standing up to factories that are not paying decent prices. We have the lowest cattle prices in the EU, far lower than in the UK, and meanwhile the Government is just shrugging its shoulders and hoping it will be all right on the night.

President Juncker has said this morning that he is not very optimistic about a deal at the moment. I am sure the Tánaiste has seen those remarks. The Government needs to give certainty and clarity to farming families and not speak about stress and pressure as something that might happen in the event of a no-deal Brexit. It is happening and is real. If he wants to understand frustration I advise him to look at the minutes of the Oireachtas joint committee meeting on agriculture last Tuesday. He should read the presentation that was given by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on beef and examine the reaction of members, including those from his own party, to the poorness of that presentation and the complete lack of understanding of the pressure the sector is under and, frankly, the lack of any plan to deal with it.

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