Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy McNamara and compliment him on tabling these amendments. I join him in thanking the Ceann Comhairle and the Government Whip for their co-operation. Amendments Nos. 2, 3 and 6 are grouped together.

Representatives of Macra na Feirme were here today. The Taoiseach stated that the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon would meet them. Their action hits the kernel of agriculture and that farmers are worried about the future. I am sure the Minister and Minister of State met them and they made their case. They said in their statement that their action is grounded in a desire for young people to have a vibrant and prosperous future in rural Ireland. We love rural Ireland. We want to live in rural Ireland and we want our children to have a future in rural communities. Without proper meaningful legislation that takes on the big moguls and the beef barons that will not be possible. As I said yesterday in the House, I remember when Charles J. Haughey went over and sat in a tent, squatted with the late Gaddafi and, with the Purcells, opened things up and brought about exports. It evolved from there and look what we have now. We see former IFA presidents and they become feed lots for the meat factories. The whole thing is rotten as far as I am concerned. It is rotten and I do not see any appetite or desire of successive governments, including the current Minister, to tackle this; none whatsoever.

There were pickets on the processing plants and factories two or three years ago - I do not remember how long ago. The independent farmers were out there. The IFA was not to be seen with them at the time. Some other groups came. Many people who supply cattle to the factories are paying levies to the IFA and other organisations. Many of them stopped at that time and more will stop because they are not being represented by the rural Deputies in Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael - the Green Party is out to destroy them - nor by some Independents who are backing the Government all the time. Neither are they being represented by the farming organisations, because it is a cosy cartel.

We have Bord Bia, the beef industry and marketing. It is all lethargic and rather inept and feeble. A world-renowned product that should be walking off the shelves is not walking off the shelves. It should be, but look at the price the housewife, mammy, daddy, - I had better be careful what I say - house person or the family has to pay compared with what the producer gets. The fifth quarter is totally hijacked and not dealt with at all. Farmers are being treated as complete latter day eejits, God forgive me. They have no say. It is the same with supermarkets as regards vegetables but in this case we are talking about meat. The same craic is going on. Divide and conquer, get rid of all the small producers and then have all the big food lots. We have it in my county with massive ranches. They have it in Kildare too. I cannot speak much for Donegal.

I had better declare an interest too as a landowner. My son is at least a hill sheep farmer. I will declare that interest in case someone says that I should not be voting or talking about it. I will fearlessly represent the agricultural community. I was born and raised on a mixed farm where we had cows, cattle, sheep, sugar beet, wheat, barley - you name it. We had everything and 30 or 40 acres of potatoes. The income from that clothed and educated my family.

It is terrible to think that small farmers are being ruined and to see those noble people of Macra na Feirme today, led by their incoming president, having to come up to make a last gasp effort to find someone to support them, for someone to call the dogs off them and stop the demonising and vitriol that is being poured on agricultural people, that they do not care about the environment. They have excellent animal welfare husbandry and land husbandry. They look after the land and will do so. They are ready, willing and able. When the rural environment protection, REP, scheme and others came out first, they were brilliant. Now the schemes are Mickey Mouse. It would cost more to employ agents and everybody has to do it. In this case, however, there is no appetite whatsoever to tackle the meat industry - none.

Meat moguls have branched into God knows what, from filling stations to every kind of thing, including hotels and you name it, all on the backs of Irish farmers and their workers. I recognise the amount of employment in the meat factories. It is not that I do not; I do. It is in my town, Cahir, as well as Roscrea and Nenagh and everywhere else such as in the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's constituency in Dawn Meats and all the other plants. All the maintenance crews and the building that goes on provide employment. Nonetheless, the spending of the profits on other projects means the economy has moved away from the large family farm. It has moved away from the big farmers. Farmers are dealing with all the restrictions the Government puts on producing the grass and the need to have farm to fork traceability. Bord Bia is not pulling its weight. As for regulators, what is the point in having regulators if they cannot touch these people? They laugh at them and kick them out of the way as if they were a bit of dirt on the ground. They have no interest in them. They have politicians in this House falling all over them and have them at their every beck and call.

I will finish with the man we commemorated three weeks ago, the late leader of republican forces, the late Liam Lynch, who gave up his life 100 years ago on 10 April. He fought for the ideals of freedom and all he wanted to do when he finished the War of Independence and the fight for freedom was go back to a farm, marry his fiancée and live out his life on a small family farm. Those ideals are so far removed from the beef barons and moguls of industry, such as Supermac's and others, and the farmers have been made patsies. They are sick and tired of it now. If we do not protect them and sit up and listen, we will not have them. We will have food shortages and misfortune. That is what we will have. I remind the Government that in the last three recessions, it was the agricultural community that pulled us out of the doldrums and recovered our economy. I support these amendments.

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