Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

TAMS has been hugely positive, so when the Deputy suggests that the Government is failing, I disagree with that. TAMS has seen a massive ramp-up and uptake and drawdown of money, and I continue to support that. It is important that the message go out there that if a farmer is considering buying equipment beforehand, he or she is not guaranteed that it will be covered if ranking and selection have to come in. We want responsible activity on the part of farmers and no farmer making an investment that does not meet the criteria afterwards. Ranking and selection are responsible things to do and I will absolutely defend that.

Let me be really clear. The Deputy suggests that the Government is somehow failing farmers. When I came into the Dáil in 2011, the value of agrifood exports from this country was €8 billion. Last year, it stood at €19.2 billion.

12 o’clock

Successive Government schemes and programmes, like Food Harvest 2020, Food Wise 2025 and now Food Vision 2030, which are ten-year strategies, have delivered a marked increase in income for our farmers from the value of their produce. I travel the world on trade missions, selling our top-valued produce from the length and breadth of the country. There is a direct link between those extra markets - those increased higher-value markets - that I, along with my Department and An Bord Bia, work with on marketing our food companies around the world. There is a direct link between that and the fact farmers are currently getting record prices for their produce across a whole host of areas. They are not mutually exclusive and we must continue to work to support our smaller and medium-sized farms, but Government is delivering for our farmers not just in terms of supports but in getting the best price for their produce we can.

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