Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important issue here. Tillage farmers have had an unprecedented year because they suffered high input costs at the start of the year when sowing and growing crops, they had really poor weather conditions throughout the year and now they are faced with a declining price for their product as well as poor yields. In many respects, it is a perfect storm.

The crisis reserve that the Deputy referred to from yesterday was the best we could do within what was available to us but we are acutely aware of the challenges in the tillage sector. We also have direct aid for protein crops.

We also have strong corporation measures there. Ultimately, we want to work with tillage farmers because we want to see the area grow. We know how challenging this year is. We will continue to work with them into the future.

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