Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister states it is not correct that the Government has not done anything. He states there are two strands to his response, namely, the European Commission's response and the Government's response. I put to the Minister that neither strand has delivered a response in support of the agrifood sector and of the beef sector in particular. The Minister mentioned the ANC scheme but all that has happened in that regard is that the payments have been restored to the previous levels of a number of years ago. While I acknowledge we have the beef scheme, between that and the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, neither add up to what would have been available under the previous suckler cow welfare programme.

We have heard the Minister talking for two years about introducing a Brexit loan scheme and how that was going to be the big ticket response to assist the farming community. It was only last month that he finally introduced it, after two years of talking. As far as the European Commission goes, we have seen no funding come from it yet, despite two years of Brexit negotiations. No funding is coming to support the Irish agrifood sector, which has been under massive distress. It is past time that the Minister got his act together and recognised the massive pressure the farming community is under. It should not take protests outside the cabinet meeting in Cork last week to draw some type of response from the Government in this regard. I am asking the Minister this morning to give a guarantee that there will be funding in this regard and to guarantee that it will happen promptly. What we have seen before now has been absolutely unacceptable and an entire neglect of our farming sector from the Minister and from the Government.

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