Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. I note that President Tusk has just appealed to the European Parliament to be open to a long extension, if the UK wishes to rethink its strategy. This is very welcome. It is a different mode of language from when England first decided it was leaving. We need that kind of conciliatory tone and reflection. We must not box the UK in if progress can be made at all. We need to give it that latitude. Prior to this meeting, the Council met and, as we know, it discussed several vitally important matters and adopted conclusions on the multi-annual financial framework, the Single Market, migration, external relations, climate change, security and defence, misinformation, the fight against racism, and citizens' consultations.

Of course, there is only one issue preoccupying all of our attention here and that is Brexit. Why would it not? I come from a rural constituency where there are several meat plants and there is rich production of beef, lamb, poultry and pigs. We are greatly worried about the numbers of employees in all those plants, the spin-offs and service people and the farmer at the farm gate. All these people are greatly concerned. We are fed up to the high teeth with the uncertainty at this stage. At the moment if feels like we are just waiting for the blow of the hammer and nothing is going to prevent it. What a heavy hammer blow that would be.

We read reports today that the European Commission says it has started to implement its preparations for a no-deal Brexit. Hey, presto, it is about time they announced this because we had to have a dual strategy of trying to avoid it but also to be ready for it. According to these reports, the Commission has announced temporary measures to try to reduce the impact but says it cannot counter all the problems it expects. That is a fairly big statement. The European Commission says its measures will not and cannot mitigate the overall impact of a no-deal scenario. We have been warning them of that for the past couple of years. "This is an exercise in damage limitation," added the Commissioner in a news conference, saying a contingency plan was necessary "given the continued uncertainty in the UK". The Commission then laid out 14 measures to cover legislation that will aim to ensure some continuity. They include a very welcome provision for road hauliers to carry freight by road into the EU for a nine-month period without having to apply for permits. That is a tangible step and I welcome it. It is vital to have that reassurance for road hauliers and their employees, for the products they carry and the industry they service.

With respect to our own Government's preparedness, I acknowledge that it has introduced a range of measures to support the agrifood sectors, including the introduction of measures to help reduce farm gate business costs such as a €150 million low-cost loan scheme. Accessing this is difficult, however. The Government has also introduced new agriculture taxation measures and increased funding under the rural development and seafood development programmes. However, we were debating a fishing issue here yesterday and the Government was trying to steamroll it. I also acknowledge the dedicated measures announced in budget 2018, including €25 million allocated for the agrifood sector. However, €25 million would not fix the hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. Fix it, dear Leo. That sum would not fix anything in this context. There is a big black hole in the bucket and no point in trying to fix it. It is blown wide open.

Budget 2018 also provided additional supports for capital investment in the food industry and Bord Bia marketing and promotion activities, all amounting to more than €50 million. I do not think Bord Bia is up to the job. It is not active enough. There is a fair investment in it and I do not think we are getting value for money. We need to be more aggressive selling our excellent quality products that are produced by excellent farmers here within a serious regime of regulation. While these budget measures are welcome and necessary, they are looking increasingly insufficient in terms of the scale of the damage that could materialise in a no-deal scenario. That would be quite obvious to a student in second class. At this point it could be argued that even if the worst-case scenario did not come to pass, it will take business and the agriculture sector years to stabilise following such a prolonged period of uncertainty as that which we have currently endured. We must have the delivery of far more specific contingency plans from the Government. We must get the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister, Deputy Creed, to wake up, meet the farming organisations and listen to them. We need the Government to meet the fears of the communities and sectors that are going to experience enormous shock and volatility in the coming months and years.

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