Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish Deputies McConalogue and James Browne the best of luck in their new roles. I have worked with Deputy McConalogue on the agriculture committee. He is a country lad, which is a good start, and the first thing he needs to do is to look at CAP. A report published today shows that, under the scheme, farmers in Cork will be able to earn €53,000 but a farmer in Leitrim may only earn €8,000. It is the dead same all along the west coast and that needs to be addressed.

The rollover of the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, needs to be done straight away and the new agri-environment scheme that was promised must be got up and running. Last year, I supported a motion put forward by the incoming Minister where he proposed that farmers deserve at least €200 for a suckler cow. I hope he puts into place what he proposed in that motion, which he brought to the floor during the previous Dáil. Another issue he must deal with is the refusal by the chairman of the beef task force to allow the task force to discuss Bord Bia's proposed new system for protected geographical indication, PGI, status. The incoming Minister should address that straight away. Another issue he needs to address in the coming days, not in the coming months, is the forestry situation. The sector is in chaos throughout the country. There are contractors going bust and 12,000 jobs at stake but no one in the Department seems to be getting a handle on it.

Another crucial issue that has come to attention in recent days relates to the piece of paper which was sent out to farmers concerning the TB status of their stock. In my opinion, those pieces of paper should be burned in the fire. I am asking the incoming Minister to scrap what the academics have put together without listening to the farming organisations and farmers. We will see the effect of this in marts soon enough. The first thing the incoming Minister can do to show he is on the side of farmers is to initiate a consultation on the TB forum. Farmers must be listened to on this issue, not the academics in universities who are looking at what is done in other countries. The incoming Minister should listen to farming families around the country. The best thing he can do to show he is the Minister in charge of the Department is to recall the TB status letter that went out to farmers and give them a new chance.

See this speech in context