Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One thing we can say about this Bill is that it is welcome, but it is also a long time coming. For too long, our farming communities and small business owners had their futures put at risk by the Government despite their being vital contributors to our economy, exports market and reputation. It is welcome that sense has finally prevailed and the way in which these sectors have been overlooked in the past is being addressed to some extent.

Family farms have been under increasing pressure for years. Their owners have been taken for granted and advantage has been taken of them repeatedly. They seem to be the last in line for attention but the first in line for criticism, as we saw in recent debates. Unfortunately, farmers have become used to being taken for granted. We see that in the manner in which the meat processing industry has been handled with kid gloves over the years. Family farmers are responsible for producing the high-quality, premium product that is renowned globally and which we are, rightly, only too proud to promote. Yet, despite the 24-7 effort farmers put into producing a quality product, their endeavours are underappreciated in financial terms. They find themselves on a low rung of the ladder of beneficiaries when it comes to the food supply chain. Today, we are finally discussing a Bill that addresses how these enterprises have been subject to rules that put many businesses and farms at risk.

How was it ever right that in order to avail of the nursing home support scheme, farmers and small business owners had to pay a proportion of their capital value for as long as they availed of the scheme, with no cap on the number of years of contributions? Do the Ministers for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and Health, as well as the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, have any idea of the damage that was done to many farms and businesses over the years this scheme has been in operation? Given the challenges that have faced family farmers, why did it take so long to make the changes we are discussing today? Given that the Government depends on small businesses to keep the unemployment figures down and give our produce a particular identity, it is hard to believe it has taken so long to get to where we are today.

These are the big questions but the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will also be acutely aware of the need to deal with a particular issue on which she has spoken before. When a loved ones gets ill and needs the care provided by a nursing home, it is an incredibly emotional time in the life of a family. To date, that situation has been made worse for many by the rules that governed the fair deal scheme in respect of farms and businesses. When families find themselves having to make a decision about their loved one's welfare, they do not want to have to worry about anything else. The fair deal scheme, as it was designed, meant that the families of farmers and small business owners had the additional concern of how their livelihood would be affected. I do not know how the Minister of State feels about having to deal with the legacy of previous Governments but she must have questioned how such a situation was ever devised under the governance of her colleagues.

The time it has taken to arrive at where we are today is concerning but I am thankful we got here. The IFA has been campaigning for changes to the scheme since not long after it started. In 2016, it made a presentation to a working group on the fair deal scheme. Now, in 2021, progress is eventually being made. The provisions in the Bill will leave many farmers and business owners scratching their heads and asking whether there are to be retrospective payments to those who paid out under the current rules. Will the Minister of State clarify her stance in this regard? Will she speak to the farmers and business owners who have those questions? If she is resistant to do so, she will have to take it up with the previous Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments that put the families of farmers and small business owners in this situation. I welcome that there is finally movement on this issue. It is crucial that no questions are left unanswered and the new system is put in place as quickly as possible.

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