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

I raised this issue back in November and it is now the middle of February, which is when farmers need to spread their fertiliser. To take one product alone, urea was €330 a tonne this time last year. Now it is €930 a tonne. That is the gospel truth. Farmers cannot work without getting some bit of a profit. At this rate they will not survive. They will have to pass their costs on to the consumer. People are wondering about inflation and what is causing it. This is one of the causes. I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to do two things, the first of which is to forego the levy or tariff of €50 a tonne that is being charged on countries outside the EU. Second, I ask that the Government subsidise fertiliser at this point in time. I am serious. It would mean a difference to the housewife and the farmers and everyone if it did that.

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