Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the designation of lands over the years, the easiest way to put it is that designation equalled compensation. By that, I mean that if a farmer was to find that his or her land was being designated for anything, compensation should follow.

The one thing I am most worried about in all of this is that what seems to be happening is that the farmer's rights to farm his or her land are being eroded all the time. It is as though we are heading towards the day when a farmer who wants to come out the door of his or her house in the morning to do a job - with their family members, with help or perhaps by themselves - will nearly have to fill in a form to do so. If they want to get into a digger or sit up on a tractor to do some work, they will almost have to get permission to do so. That seems to be the road we are going down. That is the concern that I and the other members of the Rural Independent Group have on this issue. That is the concern that we have.

We have always stated, and I have always stated going back many years, first in Kerry County Council and here in Dáil Éireann, that farming to a calendar does not work. We have often had an August that was much wetter than the January. When it comes to agitating a tank and spreading slurry, for instance, one might be in a much better position to do it in the depths of winter than at the height of summer. That has happened here over the years. Farming to a calendar does not work, and those who think it is possible to do so do not know what they are talking about. It may look good written down and sound fine and airy-fairy, but practically, it has no common sense.

The people of the countryside who are the custodians of it, and mind it or care for it, are the real environmentalists. They are the people who owned the countryside. They are the farmers and those who are the opposite to the "BBBs". In case Deputies are wondering who the "BBBs" are, they are those who think the countryside should be full of nothing but briars, badgers and bullocks. That is what they think we should have.

What I want us to have in the countryside are viable family farms and viable farm units in order that people can make a living or a part of a living out of the land they have inherited. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, should note that these farmers never look on their land as an asset. They never see themselves as anything other than custodians of the countryside. They do not own the land or possess it. It is not a possession. It is something that might thankfully have been handed down from their parents, grandparents or an uncle or aunt who gave them the farm land. All they are going to do with it is mind it, treasure it, try to improve it if they can and forward it on to the next generation of young people coming up after them. That is all people want to do.

When changes are being made, new legislation is coming in, Bills are being passed through the Dáil and regulations come from Europe, I am mindful that we must be most careful that we do not tie the hands of farmers behind their backs or put a millstone around them to hold them back and tie them down. This is the case, for instance, in respect of what is contained in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. Many people try to deny that the Bill clearly states that by 2027, which is a very short period of time, the agitation and spreading of slurry must be done using renewable methods - in other words, using some type of renewable power like electricity. The tractor that can pull 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 or 2,500 gallons of slurry out of a yard operated by a battery has not been invented yet. That is a fact. It is not here yet.

These are the stupid, nonsensical regulations that are coming before farmers. The only hope they have is that people like us will stand up here in a forum like this one and stand up for them. I would be relying on the IFA. A few days ago, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae and I met with the leadership of the Kerry IFA for over an hour and a half to discuss climate issues. Whether it is the IFA, the ICMSA or rural Deputies, we are all most concerned and we are all singing off the same hymn sheet. We all want to stand shoulder to shoulder in support of small family farms, in particular.

It was only a short time ago that Ministers came out and made statements that they are completely contradicting today. I recall being in the Dáil Chamber when the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the current Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, was encouraging young farmers in particular to expand into the milk business, to buy and lease more land and to bring in more cows so that they could supply more milk. Now, it is the exact opposite. They are setting people up to pull them back down again. It is not right or fair. I have been dealing with farmers recently who are really worried about the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 and how what is going on now in the Dáil will affect them. It must be noted that while we talk about small family farms, I also represent bigger farmers who have borrowed a lot of money and big money to improve their milking parlours, to buy more land and to progress. They are also perfectly entitled to exist as well. We are here to speak up for them and for those who are not just part-time farmers but are busy, bigger farmers. I am here to represent all of them as the other members of the Rural Independent Group are.

It is most important that issues like this are tackled. We must be very careful with this whole designation issue and what I refer to as the tying up of farmers in paperwork. God knows there is enough paperwork involved in farming as it is. The one thing we do not want is for it to get more complicated in such a way that farmers will be tied up in knots, with more rules and regulations of which they already have plenty. In our dealings with the farming sector, we always hear certain questions. How, in the name of God, did that happen? Who, in the name of God, brought that in? Who voted for that? Who let that go through? That is why it is so important that we are very careful about what we are doing.

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