Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the number of applications received under the fodder aid transport subsidy scheme; when payments will issue; his plans to reconsider introducing a meal voucher scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7418/18]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine set out the number of applications received thus far under the fodder aid transport subsidy scheme? When will payments issue? Will the Minister reconsider the approach and introduce a meal voucher scheme, rather than the foolhardy approach he has taken? He has arranged for a subsidy for an already scarce fodder resource to transport it throughout the country.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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To provide assistance for those livestock farmers severely affected by ongoing fodder shortages, mainly in parts of the west and the north west, I introduced a targeted fodder transport measure. It operates through the co-operative structure. The aim is to partly offset the cost of transporting fodder between those areas where it is available and those where it is scarce. The measure applies only to fodder purchased in the period from 29 January to 20 April 2018.

In advance of the introduction of a fodder transport scheme I prioritised the payment of farm supports to assist farmers with cashflow. Payments under the basic payment scheme, the areas of natural constraints measure and the agri-environment scheme injected over €1.4 billion into the rural economy by the end of last year. These payments are providing a welcome boost for Irish farm families and will help to finance additional fodder purchase, where necessary.

I have also asked Teagasc, through its farm advisory service, to identify farmers who are most at risk of running out of fodder, provide them with support to carry out fodder budgeting on their farms and explore all feasible options to ensure they will have sufficient feed for the coming winter months. I consider the current scheme to be an appropriate response to the fodder challenge in the west and the north west.

As of last Friday, 9 February, no applications had been received under the scheme. It is important to understand the application process. Farmers apply for the contribution towards transport having already secured fodder through their local co-operative. Pre-application in advance of securing fodder is, therefore, not required and early applications are not envisaged. A valid application requires the submission of a completed forage budget form, a completed application form, a completed co-operative declaration of transport and purchase of forage.

I have no plans to introduce a meal voucher scheme. There continues to be adequate fodder available nationally. My Department will continue to monitor the position.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am not surprised that the Department has not received any application yet because the applications process is exceptionally obscure. It is altogether unclear to the farming community. It has really been designed as no more than a public relations stunt by the Minister to try to give the impression that he is doing something to address the issue. In fact, the outcome of what he is doing will be an increase in the price of what is an already scarce fodder resource. Farmers who go to meetings or talk to farm advisers about how to deal with the fodder shortage are advised by professionals and Teagasc officials to use grain-based concentrates to try to make the already scarce supply of fodder stretch, yet what does the Minister do? He gives a subsidy to transport wet silage from one end of the country to the other rather than follow the professional advice. He has made the scheme as obscure as possible and it is difficult for farmers to apply. I appeal to him even at this late stage. A small number of areas are affected, but many farmers are facing an acute problem. Will the Minister look at adopting a more sensible approach and introduce a meal voucher scheme instead?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I encourage farmers to consult and adhere to the advice of their farm advisers, whether they are Teagasc or private advisers. In many instances, the advice will be to stretch the fodder they have available. It may well be that purchase of meal or beef nuts or whatever else might be the more appropriate route for them to follow rather than purchasing fodder. Under the scheme my Department has announced a subsidy is available towards the cost of transport over a prescribed distance from the applicant. That is appropriate in the context of a solution where that is identified as the necessary response. I do not intend to introduce a meal voucher scheme. The current scheme, as constructed, is an adequate response.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is encouraging farmers to listen to their agricultural advisers and primarily use grain-based concentrates. That is the policy advice to deal with the fodder crisis and what farmers should do. They should listen to professional advice, but the Minister has decided to take a different approach. He has decided to bring forward a subsidy to transport silage and hay from the other end of the country, which is not what the professionals are advising. He has decided not to operate that scheme alongside a meal voucher scheme, which is the response advised. Instead, he has decided to do it on a stand-alone basis. If farmers go down the route of availing of the Minister's subsidy, it will lead to increased demand for an already exceptionally scarce fodder resource. It will take farmers away from the professional advice, which is to deal with the fodder crisis through the use of additional grain concentrates. The Minister is not following his own advice. He is telling farmers to do what he says but not what he does. It defies logic.

The Minister is also making the process so obscure that it is exceptionally difficult for anyone to engage with it. Despite this, he is somehow able to say he might do something about the problem. If his scheme was to work, it would be counterproductive.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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For the purposes of clarity, my Department is not purchasing meal, silage or hay but providing a transport subsidy. The original case made to the Department was that there was no fodder available, primarily in the west and the north west. While there is a challenge in certain pockets of the country, there is no widespread shortage of fodder in the north west and certainly not nationally. Before coming to the House, I visited one of the widely used online applications for the sale of fodder. When I refined my search by region, I found that more than 163 people in the west and the north west were offering fodder for sale.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to reconsider the approach he is taking. The advice is and should be to use grain-based concentrates because increased demand for them does not lead to increased prices as they are bought at a world price and much of the grain has been imported already. When a transport subsidy for grass-based fodder is provided, the cost to the farmer is the purchase price and the cost of transport. The Department's scheme increases demand for grass-based fodder, thereby increasing the price. The Minister will not change his approach, but his response has been much too late, exceptionally ineffective and ignores the advice agriculture professionals are giving farmers on how to address the issue.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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On the contrary, the evidence suggests all the clamour for the State to produce its cheque book and buy fodder led to the withholding of fodder and inflated asking prices. The Department's approach is introducing a degree of realism in the marketplace for fodder locally, as is right and proper. Our intervention acknowledges that there may be instances where there is a requirement to transport fodder over long distances. The evidence available online is only one straw in the wind. If the Deputy picks up any of the weekly farming publications, he will see other offers of fodder for sale in the regions. There is not a national or regional fodder shortage but localised shortages in some areas which can be dealt with by engaging with the advisory service. Where it prescribes that fodder needs to be made available, my Department will support the transport of fodder under the scheme.