Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Minister will take heed of the comments made in the Chamber tonight. Beef prices are unsustainably low and farmers cannot live on an annual income of €13,000 or less. Money is being made somewhere. Somebody is making money but it is not the farmer, the producer of the beef. In terms of the threat to our beef industry posed by Brexit, the Minister is well aware that 50% of our beef is exported to the UK and market diversification will not save us in the short run. Brexit poses one of the biggest threats to suckler farmers and to jobs in the agrifood sector and the Minister knows, as do I, that a no-deal Brexit would be utterly catastrophic. Our farmers are looking over their shoulders at Brazil and Argentina and to the potential for a cheap food policy being pursued by the UK. We do not know what is going to come down the tracks.

We must also consider the CAP and what the next multi-annual financial framework, MFF, will mean for our farmers. Many farmers in this country, particularly small farmers, are relying on direct payments under CAP. We are looking at a reduction of at least 5% in the next CAP budget and that hole will have to be plugged somehow. Many farmers will not be able to take a hit. It is really important for rural communities that the small family farm is protected. It is not just about making profits. Money earned by small farmers is spent locally. It is used to put children through college and is spent in the local economy. Farmers look after their land and protect the environment. They make a huge contribution to the local economy. If we lose those farmers they will not be replaced. Young people who might consider farming as a career are looking at incomes of €13,000 or less and are walking away. There is a huge body of work to be done there.

In the context of the potential impact of Brexit, we must set up a mitigation fund. Funding must be provided to protect farmers. My concern is that we have no details yet as to what that fund might look like, how it will be accessed and what amounts will be made available. We cannot have the Government scrambling around in the days after Brexit looking for that money.

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