Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Subsidies were brought in to sustain the maximum number of farm families on the land, not to ensure that ranchers and corporate farmers are sustained, so until we tackle that, we will be back here articulating and mouthing the same thing, and I will watch from the sidelines, saying, "Good God almighty, it is like Rip Van Winkle stuff again." So let us be honest with one another. That is the place to start.

Dairy is profitable and in 2018 the average income was €43,000. I agree with Deputy Kenny that Irish beef is produced to the highest environmental, welfare and traceability standards. With green grass production, everything is great and there is traceability from the farm gate to the fork. We have all that but all those issues will not go away, and I did talk about the abolition of the milk quotas. I think the Minister may well remember that. I advocate that he deal with some of the issues. Red meat clearly has an important role in a balanced diet, and that must be emphasised and not lost sight of.

As producers of a commodity, beef farmers are effectively price takers. We have approximately 70,000 beef farmers and approximately 1.8 million cattle processed by 35 processing plants in a year.

This is a recurring flashpoint. I hope we resolve it tomorrow. I plead with farmers to reflect carefully and not to be misled. Teagasc has set out a figure of €4. That is the objective. That objective will not be achieved in a flash. It could be attained with a combination of things that are integral to the agreement that was reached last Sunday. We all know that operating at a loss is not a long-term strategy. What worries me, as I have said to people on the picket lines, is that looming over the current adverse situation is the shadow of Brexit. We could see the implementation of World Trade Organization rules. That would mean we would be uncompetitive in our largest market, with the UK market taking 50% of our beef exports. We will not be talking about €4 but wondering if we will get to €3. Let us be clear that is what would happen.

Can producer groups help? This critical mass of farmers banding together would facilitate negotiations with the processors. A number of them have been in operation. I know the Minister has given the go-ahead lately. Everyone needs to know that when one is in a producer group, one cannot go running around. People have to band together. Getting three quarters of a cent extra somewhere else should not make one leave the pitch. People have to stick with their producer group. I have met farmers who ran away when this sort of thing arose. Farmers should stick with producer groups. I see fixed price contracts as a better way forward. As it is now, the farmer takes all the risk. If a farmer has a fixed price contract, he or she knows what he or she will get. Irrespective of currency devaluation, fluctuations or market conditions, the farmer knows what he or she will get and that is safe and secure. Farmers have to work towards that. It would involve sharing the risk between processors and producers or farmers. That is to reassure farmers and give them confidence.

We have to think outside the box. The day of just bringing the animal to the mart, getting dinner in the middle of the day and going home, like we all did, and socialising, which is an important part of the mart, is diminished unless we change things through those new strategies. We have an opportunity. Given the importance of farming to the rural economy and our traditional way of life, the job of Government is to assist farmers who have been struggling for years. The Minister has to talk to the EU. He has the €100 million and the beef is there. I brought to his attention one of the deficiencies. Young farmers under 35, who are well qualified, and started to build up a farm three or four years ago, are being asked to take a 5% reduction. That is a nonsense. We have to have a situation where they can continue and to ensure that they are protected and not subject to reductions. They are only getting on their feet. It is important that condition is applied and that exemption is available for them, otherwise we are setting off on a fool's errand. We have to have a sustainable future for farm workers.

It would be remiss of me, as we discussed today in our Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, not to mention that a group which is largely forgotten with the current situation is the workers. Some 6,000 workers have been laid off, including by C&D Foods. Three rang me recently who are being laid off. They are worried about the uncertainty that they face. They have nothing to feed their children, to pay mortgages or to pay for cars. That is significant. They are working in the past. It is low-paid, precarious work. Meat Industry Ireland initially refused to negotiate with the farmers. In fairness to the Minister, he got it to the point of negotiating. It also refused to engage with the trade unions representing workers. The workers were told they could apply for social welfare payments when they were laid off. SIPTU told me that many workers in meat plants have come from abroad on specific work permits and are not allowed to apply for social welfare or to go for other jobs. Meat plants are a source of employment in many rural areas where few other jobs are available. In planning for a sustainable future for the beef industry in Ireland, provision of alternative jobs for meat factory workers must be a central consideration if, as seems likely, the beef processing industry will shrink. That is my position.

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