Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister and thank him for being here. I also thank Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan for raising this issue. His doing so probably increased the chance that it would be dealt with tonight. It is an important issue, as I am sure the Minister will agree. It is exactly eight weeks since we had a discussion on the pigmeat sector. At that time, there were very evident challenges over increased input costs and depressed prices. Those challenges have only been exacerbated since the criminal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I welcome and acknowledge the fact that, since we last discussed this topic, the Government has provided a €7 million package to the sector. It will transpire to be worth approximately €20,000 per farm. That seems substantial until one talks to the farmers who are very fearful about their future, as I did today on Kildare Street. They relayed that they are losing almost €60,000 per month. No business could sustain those types of losses. Arising from the losses, pig farmers are now being refused grain on credit or access to bank loans. This is reaching the point of emergency. I am sure the Minister will have seen the IFA's submission on what has to be acknowledged is a very substantial funding stream of €100 million, although it has stated half of that can be provided through some long-term loan mechanism. My question is whether the Minister is in a position to deliver the type of package, through loans and grants, that will keep the sector alive.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. I am aware that he met some of the protesters today. They were impressed by his knowledge of the sector and acknowledgment that they are in crisis and that steps need to be taken to stem it. I do not have to tell him that the pig industry in Ireland is worth €1.7 billion to the economy and employs approximately 8,000 people, but he may not know what it is worth in my local area, west Cork, particularly around my home town, Clonakilty, in addition to Timoleague, Leap, Rosscarbery and the area right into Bandon. That pocket is very heavily reliant on the pigmeat sector. The village of Timoleague is quite big but very much reliant on the sector for employment. Stauntons Foods, right next to the village, employs approximately 300 people. The village is very dependent on the company for its economy and lifeblood. I am acutely aware of what the pig sector means to west Cork.

The loss of any pig farm or industry will have a devastating effect and, therefore, I plead with the Minister to provide an intervention along the lines of what the IFA has sought in its submission. The industry is in big trouble and is making huge losses. It predicts it will have made a loss of €160 million in the short 18-month period between September 2021 and March 2023. We certainly need to intervene. What is occurring is not the fault of the Government but down to international pressures and the lack and cost of feed. Farmers are very welcoming of the €20,000 payment under the exceptional payment arrangement but we need to consider the stability fund. The IFA is seeking €100 million, which would mean €50 million through a levy. The Minister should at least consider this and provide an answer as soon as possible.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this Topical Issue matter. I recently met representatives of the IFA, including members of its pig committee, in addition to farmers and I fully understand the scale of the challenge facing the sector. Indeed, we will meet the representatives again at 9 o'clock tonight. As Deputy O'Sullivan said, I met the farmers on Kildare Street today and spoke to them.

The continued development of the sector is a priority for the Government given the pivotal role it plays in the national economic context. It is the fourth largest agrifood sector and has shown remarkable growth in recent years. The sector supports approximately 8,000 jobs, spanning production, slaughter, processing, feed manufacture and services.

Our pig farmers have always been remarkably resilient but I am acutely aware of the challenges they are facing. The pigmeat sector across the EU has faced significant challenges in recent times, including the impact of African swine fever in several member states and the consequential loss of third-country markets. Obviously, this has had a knock-on effect on supply and prices within the Single Market. The current situation in Ukraine has exacerbated these challenges.

I have had ongoing discussions with the main banks over recent weeks on the current challenges in the pigmeat sector and the importance of their ongoing support. I have emphasised the importance of the sector, its overall resilience and the importance of their support of their customers through the current downturn in the business cycle. The key message I am issuing is that farmers experiencing cash flow difficulties should engage with banks as soon as possible. It is important to have a partnership at this difficult time.

Separately, I met representatives of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland to discuss the Brexit impact loan scheme and the Covid-19 credit guarantee scheme, both of which are financed by my Department in partnership with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. These finance schemes can be used for working capital finance and include features that address the current financial needs of pig farmers.

We are very much aware of the cyclical nature of the commodity markets, which for the pig sector at this time is compounded very much by rising input costs. Maximum flexibility in financial matters is needed to ensure the ongoing viability of those in the sector.

I have had meetings recently with the IFA president and pig committee members to discuss concerns. At these meetings, I reiterated the Government's commitment to supporting the sector. As the Deputies will know, I recently announced the pig exceptional payment scheme, with its fund of up to €7 million, as an urgent, short-term response to assist producers that would be viable but for the extreme current circumstances and to allow space for a more medium-term adjustment to market signals. This scheme is once off, paying up to €20,000 per farmer. The first tranche of payments was made last week, with the remaining application due to be processed as soon as possible. The scheme reflects the Government's clear commitment to supporting the pigmeat sector. The scheme is part of a wider package of measures to support the sector, including intensified efforts by Bord Bia to promote quality-assured Irish pigmeat in the domestic and export markets, with dedicated media advertising campaigns under way nationally, as well as EU-funded pigmeat promotion programmes running in key export markets.

Teagasc has intensified its dedicated, ongoing advisory supports for pig farmers and is actively engaging with them. At EU level, I have been engaging in respect of the European Food Security Crisis Preparedness and Response Mechanism. My Department is currently examining the detailed requirements and conditionality attached to the exceptional aid allocation to Ireland of €15.8 million.

As both Deputies have raised, a proposal has been made by stakeholders through the IFA. I received it last Wednesday week and my departmental officials have been assessing it. I will meet IFA representatives later to discuss the proposal. I am aware of the acute challenge facing the sector and will continue to engage with it on the appropriate response. I thank both Deputies for raising this matter on the floor of the Dáil and for their advocacy on behalf of the sector.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his response.

As he indicated, this is part of a cycle. I have no doubt that if pig farmers are provided with the supports necessary to get through this crisis, they will see more profitable times ahead. The difficulty is that many of the people I spoke to today on Kildare Street feel they may not be able to survive this period.

To be specific in terms of the proposals that have brought to the Minister, there are two elements. The first is a €50 million loan scheme. Does the Minister see a mechanism by which such a scheme can be delivered? As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, many of the farmers in my constituency who I deal with on a regular basis have told me that the banks are showing them the door and are not willing to provide them with any level of funding. Second, through the mechanisms we have discussed previously, namely, the Brexit adjustment reserve, the EU crisis reserve and-or any other mechanism, does the Minister see a prospect of being able to deliver further cash payments to pig farmers?

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Carthy is correct. This is cyclical, but pig farmers have never seen a dip quite as serious. The price of feed is skyrocketing and the price of the product is dipping like never before. Farmers expect the price of the product to stabilise and even come back, but the price of feed shows no sign of decreasing. It is a crisis. The proposed stability fund put to the Minister is what pig farmers see as the very least that is needed to stabilise the industry and enable it to survive. That is how important this is.

It must be remembered that the pig industry does not receive any direct payments from Europe. Many pig farms are family run. They are in this position through no fault of their own. We have seen these interventions in other member states, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and France, where pig farmers have been provided with a €600 million rescue package. All we are asking for is something that will stabilise the industry. I wish to emphasise that some type of clarity is needed for the industry as soon as possible.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies. I accept that clarity as quickly as possible is important. Farmers are making decisions about the situation in which they find themselves. Every pig that leaves a farm at the moment is losing the farmer a significant amount of money, and that is increasing by the day. I am very much aware of the situation and have been liaising very closely with the sector for a significant period of time. The €7 billion scheme announced three or four weeks ago just before the war in Ukraine equates to €20,000 per farmer. The ongoing travesty in Ukraine has had significant implications for all sectors, in particular the agrifood sector, of which the pig sector is undoubtedly the part most affected.

I will meet the IFA and farmers later today Let us be clear. The ask from the IFA of the Government is massive, namely €100 million up front. In terms of the €7 million scheme I launched, the 350 commercial pig units concerned would seem to translate into 240 individual undertakings, and €100 million would equate to €420,000 per undertaking. If €50 million was covered by the State and €50 million by levies, that would amount to €210,000 in State contributions, with €210,000 to be paid back under the proposal in a levy over ten years or so. That is the nature of the ask, and it is massive.

I am very much aware of the pressures on the sector. The Deputies are correct. It is a sustainable and valuable industry, the third largest within our agrifood sector. We want to ensure it is there for the future. I am very much aware of how acute the bottom of the hole sector finds itself in is at the moment. I will work and engage with farmers on how I can work with them to support the sector through this. I again thank Deputies O' Sullivan and Carthy and the many other Deputies who raised this issue with me in recent days.