Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

At the end of the day, we continue to have those supports in place. There is strong co-operation, €10 million for the protein aid scheme and the allocation of money for the intervention earlier this year. While that was to recognise last year's hardship, it came out of the budget for this year, which I have to manage for tillage and all other sectors. I will continue to work with the sector. I absolutely recognise the challenges. The latest Teagasc income figure is €38,000. When you consider input costs relating to the long-term leasing of land and the price farmers are paying in that regard if they are farming more than their own land, the input costs of machinery, depreciation and the very high cost of replacing machinery, and all of the other input costs, you will see that the risk-reward ratio in respect of that investment is very challenging. That is why I will continue to work with the tillage sector, provide targeted support given the importance of the sector within the wider agriculture industry and deliver on the commitment in the programme for Government to invest significantly in the tillage sector over the next five years.

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