Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response.

As he indicated, this is part of a cycle. I have no doubt that if pig farmers are provided with the supports necessary to get through this crisis, they will see more profitable times ahead. The difficulty is that many of the people I spoke to today on Kildare Street feel they may not be able to survive this period.

To be specific in terms of the proposals that have brought to the Minister, there are two elements. The first is a €50 million loan scheme. Does the Minister see a mechanism by which such a scheme can be delivered? As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, many of the farmers in my constituency who I deal with on a regular basis have told me that the banks are showing them the door and are not willing to provide them with any level of funding. Second, through the mechanisms we have discussed previously, namely, the Brexit adjustment reserve, the EU crisis reserve and-or any other mechanism, does the Minister see a prospect of being able to deliver further cash payments to pig farmers?

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