Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Farmers are leaving the land in greater numbers than ever before. According to Teagasc, two thirds of farmers currently cannot make a living from the land alone. They have to either work elsewhere or are being driven into poverty. A total of 57% have an income of less than €20,000 per year. To put that in perspective, Ministers earn nearly ten times that figure per year.

Those farmers are under attack from every direction. They are under attack from the new climate change Bill, which is loading up carbon taxes on them; the Government's shutting down their ability to harvest peat and instead importing peat from Latvia; and the Government's investment in the Mercosur agreement, which would bring more Brazilian beef into the European Union, thus displacing beef produced more environmentally in Ireland. They are also under attack from the structure of the agricultural market. There are three elements to the supply chain in farming: farmers, factories, and supermarkets. All of the profit is landing on the last two elements. Factories and supermarkets earn supernormal profits. Many are tax-resident in the likes of Luxembourg. Farmers are earning very little, yet the Government has resisted putting pressure on the market to make sure farmers get more for their produce. We in Aontú have drafted a Bill which will put a floor under the price of beef to prevent factories pushing the price under the cost of production, yet the Government will not accept it.

The nature restoration law has been passed by the European Parliament. Most of the political parties have had their MEPs voting for it. There are serious and legitimate concerns among farmers that are not being addressed such as the rewetting of land, especially bogland, which could raise water tables and make surrounding farmland unproductive, and the increase in space for nature in farms without any real talk of funding for farmers to help make up for that. There is a clear lack of definition and a clear difficulty with regard to the plans that are happening.

Farmers will not take this lying down. We have recently seen an uptick in farmers protesting around the country. I appeal to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to start listening to the farming community because without that community, much of rural Ireland will be deleted.

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