Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also thank the Rural Independent Group for putting this motion before the House. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this today. Many aspects reflect on the inconsistent way this Government has treated our farmers and the contradictory message it has been sending rural Ireland in what is almost a traditional approach by the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party Government.

Everyone in the House will be well aware that, not long ago, farmers were advised to expand their dairy production capacity. Quotas were abolished and there was a doubling down on the need to invest and the benefits that would come from that. There was widespread investment. Investment was encouraged to expand the dairy herd and increase supply. The debt taken on since remains with many farmers today. They did it because they were advised to. They were told it would benefit them, our economy and our exports. Rural Ireland has been farmed under advisement for many years and I have just given an example of this.

Times change, however, as do priorities. Climate change mitigation measures led the charge given the substantial increase in temperatures. Our farmers, as ever, are ready to play their role. They are the custodians of our countryside and the powerhouse of every rural community. Many have farmed the same land for generations. They know the land, are committed to it and are already working to lower their carbon footprint. They have been acting to sequester carbon for some time as well as to limit emissions, reduce run-off and enhance their farming practices in line with what we all, as a country and globally, must do to stave off future climate change. Farmers are meeting a range of measures as part of their payment requirements, so to give the impression they are not already shouldering a lot of the burden is to misrepresent them profoundly, and to float an idea that causes them such anxiety for their future livelihoods is reckless. Of course, we all need to do more but the conversation has been allowed to develop recently to unfairly make family farms an easy target.

Maybe that is useful for the Government, which has a relationship with the EU that often excludes the very sector of society that this policy will affect. Most recently we saw this in the so-called forestry programme which has been delayed because the Department did not seek to address state aid rules. As with the forestry sector, it is the farmers who are affected by the Government’s lack of engagement. What about organics, which successive governments have left wither on the vine? Is that the fault of our farmers or is it more political? We know exactly where the fault lies and it is not with the farmer.

It took a freedom of information request to confirm the Government is looking at a reduction in the national herd as part of a proposal paper on addressing climate change. In typical style, any information has to be forced out of it or is drip fed, igniting speculation and fear while adding to the mistrust of the farming community of the Department. This is no way to govern properly nor is it any way to support our farming families, who are losing faith in the Government day by day in relation to the future of the family farm.

We need to move away from the narrative that a reduction of the herd is the only way to address greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. What do we really know when we talk about the carbon footprint of family farms? Should we not delve into that? Sinn Féin's proposal in our alternative budget of a farm-by-farm carbon audit may give farmers a real insight into exactly what is needed on their patch and could assist in purchasing a range of measures to meet our targets in a way that supports our farmers. Despite the existence of this gap in knowledge, our farmers are still taking action. They are still ready to engage in measures to combat climate change. If we are talking about herd reduction, just look at how the suckler herd has reduced in recent years. Macra na Feirme has spoken of the importance of succession that works for farmers who may want to exit dairying while assisting young farmers to adapt to a range of climate mitigation measures. They must be listened to and not left to feel sidelined and targeted while discussions on their very future go on behind closed doors.

We need to move away from this binary and damaging argument that a reduction of the herd is the only way to address greenhouse gas emissions and the Government needs to step up to that. Measures include solar, low-emission slurry spreading, addressing urea spreading and possibly a function of the forestry industry. There are many options if the political will were there. Yes, we have emissions targets to beat but what are needed are tangible plans. We should not forget that our family farmers have invested heavily and continue to do so. They have bills to pay and their communities rely heavily on their prospering. For this to happen in a way that can allow for prosperity in agriculture, the Government must be transparent about the proposals it is looking at. If it has proposals in mind on this, it needs to be open with farmers and rural communities rather than the media having to force information from it through freedom of information requests. Farmers are the backbone of rural economies. If the Government is being less than transparent with farmers, it is being less than transparent with rural communities. If it has plans that will damage farmers, then it will also damage those very rural communities.

Sinn Féin has long called for a commission on the future of family farms. It would bring together stakeholders and experts to bring forward proposals to strengthen the position of farmers and develop opportunities for diversification. We have also called for measures to adequately support our family farmers and to ensure they can thrive into the future, such as the delivery of the suckler payment of up to €300 per cow calf pair and for an increase in the sheep improvement scheme of €20 per ewe. As I said earlier, many farmers are already playing a valued role and have a proud tradition of this and of supporting their communities and caring for the land. There are many ways to reduce the carbon footprint on farms beyond this obsession with reducing the national herd, which is rightly causing anxiety for families for their livelihoods which are already under huge pressure. They deserve better than how they have been treated on this to date and they need absolute clarity from the Department on the possible proposals being explored. Farmers are willing to work on the measures that are needed. I ask the Minister to work with them and give them the certainty the sector needs that family farms can survive. We have heard this repeatedly from the different farming organisations at meetings of the agriculture committee, and the Minister has been at them too. They will tell the Minister their voices are not being heard. They need to be heard and the Minister needs to work with them.

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