Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----but unfortunately, and I am just going to talk about lamb, that was not being passed on to the farmer back home. It was Irish steak, but it was not passed on to the farmer. We need to get into these new markets such the United States, which we are trying to get into, and many others. We need to get the margin. Any business that cannot get the margin is in trouble. We need to ensure, and Opposition and Government Deputies will agree this is the challenge, that the margin is passed on to the markets. That is why the ICSA, the Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, and many other farming organisations are working with us to try to ensure we get that margin. It is a difficult thing to outline but we need to do that. We need to grow the value of our sheep meat exports. Grass-fed lamb is a premium product, not just in Ireland but internationally and, again, continental Europe and the United states can be markets for us. We need to ensure these gains are passed on to the farm gate. I have had very interesting and informative interactions with many of the organisations I have met. I thank them for their openness and sincerity. One can feel that this is a sector facing challenges, however. This Government needs to support the sheep sector. We need to work with farmers and their representatives to try to ensure that whatever is there, we can work again.

The next few weeks will be very important with the markets that are being opened, but also with the Easter market. I hope the increases in cheap prices that have happened in the last two weeks will continue to escalate and ensure farmers will have that margin. I praise their work and resilience. We all have a role in government to try to support people in very difficult times. We must come up with interesting and innovative measures to help them. I attended a meeting one night at which we spoke about farmers and forestry. In 2011, when this country was under pressure and all the so-called industries such as banking and construction collapsed, our Government at the time focused on supporting farming because farmers were always a constant; they were always there. They did something; they produced food. They were always resilient but innovative. At one meeting, we spoke about how we can get farmers to plant trees. One person said we have to make it worthwhile.

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