Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I hope there will be time at the end for the Minister to answer some questions. If not, I would appreciate it if I could receive some answers by means of correspondence. I first recognise the resilience and commitment of all the workers and producers in the agriculture sector in keeping our supermarket shelves stocked at this very difficult time. It is an industry vulnerable every year to various factors and with a pandemic thrown in, it is a testament to the sector that it can operate to the level it is at currently.

I am delighted Deputies Cahill and Leddin referred to allotments. I was concerned that I might be stretching the boundaries of the Minister's portfolio if I raised the matter. In my constituency of Dublin Fingal, urban meets rural and allotments are a very big deal. Many people have them. They play a big role in people growing their own food and there are mental health benefits. I received a number of representations on this. I am very committed to our public health guidelines - and I am quite strict about them - but I was running this matter through my head. I ask if the use of such allotments could be allowed while maintaining social distance and not risking a knock-on effect that would bring more loosening of restrictions. This could happen as these are private areas and many are gated. A simple rule of one person per allotment would mean that social distancing and any public health guidelines could be adhered to. This is a matter that must be re-examined.

There are public parks and open spaces where people can get outside for a period each day for walks and physical activity. Allotments could fall into this category. They may be even more protected from contamination by Covid-19 than public parks. Did the Government or the Department specifically instruct county councils to close access to gardening allotments and will the Minister consider reopening private gardening allotments operating within public health guidelines, as we can see is happening with public parks and open spaces?

In the context of supports for farmers, we know food production is an essential service and workers in that sector must ensure they can carry out this essential work within public health guidelines. Will the Minister detail the supports and protection being provided for dairy farmers with outside contractors working on their land? Is it necessary for workers to have PPE when social distancing may be difficult in some forms of work, as is the case in other sectors?

What interaction has the Department had with the beef industry since the closure of pubs and restaurants in order to maintain a functioning supply chain while the demand from the hospitality sector has slowed to an absolute crawl? Does the Department have plans to ensure that food produced does not result in waste due to overproduction or cause delays within the supply chain? Has the Department made plans to ensure farm safety inspections can continue to be carried out throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure food production safety and the safety of workers in the sector?

I was very interested in the Minister's comments just now as they brought home to me the fact that on most farms children would be at school during the day and it would be a safe place to work. Farms are now a home and a place of work so those dangers have increased. I will certainly bring those comments to my party to get that message out of increased safety and vigilance on farms. What statistics are available for farm safety since the beginning of February, when the country started to deal with the public health emergency and how do they measure against statistics for periods prior to the outbreak of Covid-19?

I am very interested in the EU support package for farmers. Farmers have already been struggling with cashflows in the beef sector with a basic call for fair distribution of profits over the past year. I know some farmers feel undervalued and underappreciated by certain players in the supply chain in the beef sector. I would argue that regardless of the pandemic we face, farmers are always key members of the workforce that keeps the wheels of our nation turning. It is about time their voices are truly heard on the issue of a fair deal for their produce and decent support for their vital work during this time. Further to the EU support package for farmers, what plans does the Government have for income support for beef farmers? Does the Government have plans to ensure that no farmer working to supply the country with food and to make an honest living does not fall into financial ruin during the period and that income supports are available to the sector?

Are there plans to reopen marts in line with public health guidelines? I know other Members have raised this in the last hour. We are coming into the peak dairy production season. Have measures been put in place to ensure high-skilled workers across this area of manufacturing and production can work to ensure we meet the demands of peak production?

The horticulture sector is a big sector in Fingal. In the past two weeks a matter known as the Keelings issue has come to light. Of course, this is an issue that exists nationwide. There are many different strands to it and we need to be very careful when discussing the issue. In recent years we probably turned a blind eye to the need for seasonal migrant labour to come here. They are skilled labour force coming in, reaping our crop and making sure it gets to our supermarkets. There have been issues with pay and conditions that have gone unheralded by the majority in recent years. These have been brought to light in recent weeks. Are we, as a society, happy to stand over poor pay and conditions for seasonal migrant labour? I know I am not. This matter needs real attention in coming weeks and months.

We also have issues with public health; we are working in a pandemic. Are the seasonal migrant labourers coming to work in our country being protected? Are the companies looking after them? Are they being accommodated correctly? How can we be sure that the restrictions the companies claim are in place are actually being put in place? That applies to the workers and to the communities in which they work because they need to shop, socialise and exercise in the surrounding communities.

These are really important issues that we need to get hold of. The elephant in the room and the issue Keelings exposed and for which we all have responsibility is that we have a particular element in Irish political life at the moment. We have these far-right ethno-nationalist people trying to sow division and hatred. I know this is absolutely rejected by the vast majority of people in this House. When we are talking about seasonal migrant labour, we need to be cognisant that there are toxic elements in our society seeking to harness these issues, pollute them and turn them into political footballs to sow division and hate and to promote their absolutely toxic politics.

I ask the Minister and everybody else to condemn that and to commit to being cognisant of that so that when we have issues relating to pay and conditions, which need to be looked at irrespective of the pandemic, all workers who come to work in our country in whatever sector are looked after appropriately. When these elements are trying to use them to promote their horrible racist agendas, we as a State and as a society need to protect them from that.

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