Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Without interruption, please. I support these amendments. I am a farmer's son. I also understand farming and where Macra na Feirme is coming from. The Minister is from a farming community himself. The farmers who were here today are aged up to 35. I was thankful to see a 50-50 representation of men and women supporting the young Macra na Feirme members today. The average age of people going into farming is a lot lower. I spoke to many of them today who said they have no future in farming. I have three brothers who are farmers. I will be lucky if one or two of my nieces or nephews go into farming because the sons and daughters of my other brother said they cannot see a viable future in farming. That is three farms, three brothers and three families who said their children are looking at this and cannot see a viable future in supplying the food chain. When will the Government examine protecting agriculture and its future rather than it being sold out to massive meat processors dictating the price for meat produce? The people who supply meat produce for this industry have to try to work at a bare minimum or even at a loss to keep the family farm going.

When there were protests from members of the farming group, which went around the country last year, the Rural Independent Group stood with them. I stood with them at protests over the prices farmers get for producing food. When the transport network came here last year and protested, we were there again, side by side with them, when other Members did not think it was too popular to stand with the truckers and transport network in Ireland responsible for the movement of food produce. When Macra na Feirme came today, we were there again to meet and support them. A minority, only five or six, Government Deputies who came out to meet them. The majority of Deputies who met Macra na Feirme members were Independents. That tells us what the Government thinks of the farming sector and what it has in mind about the future of farming.

I believe, come the next election, whether it comes sooner or later, that the people from farming communities will remember the people who stuck with them through the highs and the lows and tried to support them and the future of farming.

These amendments are for fairness of pricing and openness and transparency for the pricing model and the market that is there for the future of the cost for the producers producing the meat. I ask the Minister to accept these amendments in their entirety, as Deputy McNamara has tabled them, and to stand up and protect and future-proof the supply chain in this country. As I said, we have had protest after protest and the Government still has not listened. The Government brings various farming organisations and groups up here and says, "Yes, sir, no, sir, three bags full, sir", and then changes the position when they walk out the door. We are talking about the next generation of farmers whom we need to protect, and about existing farmers who would like farming to be comfortable so that there is a viable future for their children or grandchildren or their cousins who want to take over the farm. It is in the Minister's hands. As I said, he is from a farming background. I presume he would like to see the next generation of the McConalogues take on farming, see it as a viable future, have a life they can live and experience life outside of farming. That is what we want. We want them to get fair prices for fair produce and fair play when it comes to legislation and regulations being put in place for farming.

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