Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to have the opportunity to speak on this matter. Just this week, on Monday, I had members from the Carlow and Kilkenny Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, in my clinic. When this item was on the agenda, I said I would take the opportunity to raise some of the concerns they raised with me. As people will know, both countries of Carlow and Kilkenny have a good mix of rural and urban but there are many people who rely solely on their income from sheep farming. As we know, and has been said by my colleague, Deputy Matt Carthy, the sheep sector is going through a particularly challenging period. While this might be recognised in words by the Minister and by Government, words are not enough. At this stage, people really need solutions and action.

Irish sheep farmers are in the eye of the perfect storm. On the one hand they are contending with the fallout of Brexit and everything else that comes with that. Then they have the rising input costs and the total annihilation of the wool prices. I fear many small farmers will be wiped out. That is what they are telling us directly in our clinics. They also tell us that there is not a wool sector in Ireland anymore. When I spoke to some of the local sheep farmers this week, it was clear that we are not tapping into the existing opportunities in terms of the various uses of wool. It really seems like a big missed opportunity. It now costs farmers more to sheer their animals and dispose of the wool than any potential income generated from wool sales. I do not think anybody could regard the price farmers get for their wool product to be considered in any way fair trading. We cannot keep expecting farmers to finish lambs at below the cost of production and without direct supports. Farmers ask me what the point is in awaiting the publication of the feasibility study into Ireland's wool sector as they do not feel the report proposes any real solutions.

I see their point concerning this. My colleague mentioned Brexit and this is undoubtedly having an impact on our farmers. While Brexit and the non-existent wool sector present their own difficulties, another pressure point relates to market prices, which we know are dictated by the all-powerful meat processors and factories. The reality is that farmers do not get a fair price for the whole animal. There are international markets into which meat factories and processors sell every part of the animal, but farmers do not see any of these sideline profits.

As someone who does not come from an agricultural background, I always tell people in a similar situation to go into a butcher's shop or supermarket and look at the price of meat. When they then hear what farmers are getting for that meat, they could not but say how deeply unfair this is. I make this point to show that a person does not necessarily have to be an expert in this field to understand that farmers are being treated very unfairly. Despite the sector crying out for assistance and a level of resilience-building and policy to emanate from the Department, farmers have been left wanting and waiting. They are looking for an increase in the paltry €10 sheep welfare payment. We have committed in our proposals, as my colleague said, to increase this payment to €20. I think the Minister has committed to an increase of €2. I do not see how this would adequately deal with any of the challenges being faced. In fact, €2 is quite a bit of an insult to people. We need confirmation of what rescue package will be provided for the sector. Sheep farmers need direct supports and a clear pathway to ensure the viability of the sector.

People I have met have suggested that the Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR, fund could be used in the short term as an emergency support package. The allocation of €100 million from the BAR fund to meat factories and processors is a particularly bitter pill for small sheep farmers to swallow. I believe officials in the Department have been instructed to examine potential supports for sheep farmers, but we need to see an acceleration in action and a timeline. This is one of the key things here. We need action points and a timeline, with key targets, to improve the sustainability of the sector. There is true value in having a vibrant sheep sector for regional economies and this must be recognised. We must ensure we are supporting this sector so that it is not decimated. We are in real fear of this happening.

See this speech in context