Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

There are many different tools in our armoury to be able to support the tillage sector as part of the CAP negotiations. I attended a meeting with the Irish Grain Growers and the IFA in Killashee Hotel to which more than 1,000 tillage farmers turned up. Deputy Byrne and I know tillage farmers do not protest much or in those kinds of numbers but they did on this occasion, such is the level of desperation after three really difficult years. After that meeting, it was very clear to me that there was a need for short-term financial support to give farmers the confidence to put seed in the ground again next year. That is not the long-term solution, however. The long-term solution is the value-added piece. The dairy industry has been very successful in identifying product such as whey proteins as the value-added piece. Unfortunately, our tillage sector is currently at world market prices and that is really hurting it. What we need to do, while having the short-term financial support I have committed to for next year and on the design of which I will work with farming organisations to make it most targeted, is to work on the value-added piece around our native grains, which I am happy to expand on in my next answer.

See this speech in context