Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

The message is out there that TAMS is running low. Let us be clear: the Government has failed to address the crisis in farm incomes and, by extension, rural Ireland family farming. We can talk about surveys and percentages, but families are struggling to make ends meet. There is a cost-of-living crisis gripping communities, urban and rural, all across this State. When we look at farm incomes and the low floor that is there, they need something they can rely on, something that is sustainable, fair and secure. I refer to those rising input costs and the delayed payments. There has been progress, and fair play to the Minister, but it should never have got to that stage and it put so many family farmers under huge financial pressure. Although the percentage of farmers still waiting may be small, they are still waiting and still stretched because of it.

What we need is a radical shift, with a Government that puts suckler beef and sheep farmers at the heart of rural policy, not at the bottom of the pile. Viability cannot be a luxury or a pipe dream. It is a basic requirement for the future of these rural communities.

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