Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

The backdrop to any discussion of the farming cuts must be a recognition that in addition to farmers, the entire rural economy is affected. I refer to the towns and villages of rural Ireland which are essentially dependent on agriculture. We are not just discussing cuts to farmers; we are discussing cuts in the viability of towns of 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 people.

The savage cuts that affect farmers are characterised by an absence of parity, justice and fair play. Farmers will be affected by the income levy of 1% on gross income. That is the sinister part, as farmers will also have to pay the increased registration fee for their children in college and the increased cost of admission to hospitals. Farmers are liable to be affected by all the regular hits of the budget, such as the 1% levy, and they are prepared to pay their due. It would be fair game if the matter stopped there, but in addition to the normal imposition people accept in difficult budgetary circumstances there is the savage attack on the disadvantaged areas scheme, the suckler cow welfare scheme and mobility in agriculture to which I will return.

Farmers are being attacked from every possible angle. I will refer in due course to the legal challenge to the cuts to the installation aid scheme. One would get a sense that under the Constitution farmers are to be pilloried, separated and treated differently from other sectors. Why do they have to put up with other impositions in addition to the normal income levy? Why are they being treated differently? The implications of the cuts to the disadvantaged areas scheme will amount to €950 to €1,500 for an average farmer, which is a significant drop in income. The implications of the reduction in the suckler cow welfare payment from €80 to €40 will amount to €2,000 to €3,000 for an average farmer. One medium-sized farmer told me recently that he will lose €3,400. We are talking about a serious income hit.

The constraints of time make it important that we get the salient points across. I deplore the ivory tower nonsense of Senator Boyle who must live on another planet. I meet real farmers every day who are affected by the cuts. The change in the installation aid scheme gives rise to serious concern. Some people are in no man's land. Perhaps that is not an appropriate term in this week of remembrance. Certain individuals have spent, on average, two years in agricultural college where they have spent money on legal teams for the transfer of farms.

I will outline one case that will serve to illustrate the multitude of cases. One young man I know attended Ballyhaise agricultural college in County Cavan for two years. He spent €8,500 between practical work on his farm and legal fees in preparation for the transfer of the farm from his father to him. That young man is a current applicant. He is one of the group that is especially affected and who has what in legal terms is referred to as legitimate expectation. I understand he will take a court case. Farming organisations, specifically the ICMSA, the IFA and others, will take legal cases in this regard, and rightly so because young farmers have acted in good faith, given of their time and invested in the transfer of farms.

Let us examine the money that is rightly spent on supporting IDA Ireland to secure foreign direct investment to create jobs in this country. Previously, young farmers received €15,000 to set themselves up in business. That was the sole investment in that one job, and possibly other jobs would be created on each farm. That was very good economics as it provided secure, long-term employment, especially in the context of international food shortages. If jobs created through foreign direct investment had similar longevity we would say they were worth €80,000 each. Much of the €15,000 would be invested anyway in VAT and other forms of taxation. That cut was a mistake.

Senator Carty will empathise with what I have to say and that may change his view on supporting our motion when the time comes to vote. The only time money came to a farm household was when people got the farm retirement pension. That was Valhalla and Nirvana. It was their special time in life and people were very happy with it. It was wonderful for people to get a few extra euro at that time in their lives. In some cases it was the only time real money — cash — ever came into the house. It was a lovely lift for people and it is wrong to suspend that payment.

Recently, Senator Boyle has made almost a career out of posing the question, "What would Fine Gael do?" Historically, Fine Gael has always done the right thing in budgetary terms.