Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

Ì welcome the Minister. I am delighted to hear Senator O'Donovan singing from the same hymn sheet and supporting our motion. It is not about politics but about supporting our constituents. With deference to Senator Boyle, that is what we are doing. Fine Gael certainly has come up with an alternative budget.

Along with the rest of the population, farmers realise there is a global downturn and they are more prepared than anyone to play their part in getting the economy back on track. We know there must be painful choices but farmers bitterly resent the fact that, compared with other sectors, they have been targeted with such excessive cuts. The bones of our motion concern the cuts to the installation aid and early retirement schemes which will bring catastrophic effects on young and old farmers alike. As other Senators have remarked, over long periods farm families have phased and carefully planned their retirement and the handover whereby the young person comes in to take over the farm. It is morally wrong to close these schemes overnight. I am aware there are hundreds of farmers in the process of dealing with their solicitors. I do not like the threat of legal action but am aware that people are about to take legal action because of this measure.

In light of previous tax amnesties for developers and all the Fianna Fáil cohorts, the least we can do is provide an amnesty for these unfortunate people who were to get €15,000 each, be they the young person or the retiring person. It is incumbent on us to look after these people by providing €15,000 for the person who will retire between the ages of 55 and 65 and the installation aid grant for the young farmer who wishes to take over the farm. That was a good incentive for the young person to buy the necessary farm equipment or to pay the legal costs which could have been significant during the changeover.

Senator John Paul Phelan has pointed out that only 8% of our farmers are under the age of 35. That makes for a very lonely countryside. I raised this issue before with regard to the number of older farmers who are trying to run their farms on their own without the physical help of a young person to pull an animal or do the heavy work around the farm. It is frightening that such a small percentage of young people are involved in farming. It is cruel to remove the installation aid scheme, especially from well-educated young farmers who spent time going to college to bring themselves up to speed with new techniques.

I was shocked to read yesterday what the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, said concerning greenhouse gas emissions and this nation's targets in that regard. He said we must reduce our emissions by 2020 but it is an absolute outrage that he expects the agricultural sector to cull the dairy herd to reach these targets. It is bad enough that farming was doing so badly before the budget as a result of the global and economic downturn. We then had a dreadful budget and now, to add insult to injury, the Minister comes up with this notion that we must cull the nation's dairy herd in order that we reach our quota of greenhouse gas emissions.

Perhaps the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, might talk to the Green Party and encourage the Minister, Deputy Gormley, not to come out with such extraordinary statements. Such talk is most harmful to an already disabled sector. I would describe farming in that way because it is suffering enough. I have had many representations from farmers who are suffering. We all know that the price of milk is the lowest it has been in 20 years owing to competition. Farmers will lose thousands this year. What do we do then? We impose all these extraordinary cuts that affect them.

I am surprised that the 1% levy is based on gross rather than net income. Farmers who would have invested in farm machinery such as a tractor might have expected to be able to write off the depreciation of that tractor or invest in their pension. The levy would then have been imposed on their net income. This imposition is not the case for other sectors and it is cruel and mean to penalise the farmers in this way. As Senator O'Reilly said, they must pay inflation costs, the increases in VAT, medical expenses, fuel, etc. The Government then imposes this levy on them on top of the other cuts.

Up to now €80 per suckler cow was available to qualifying farmers but next year that amount will be €40. I have serious concerns about the quality of our beef industry. We already saw the suffering and heartache farmers endured with the importation of Brazilian beef. I believe this decrease will affect the quality of our beef. As a person who likes to cook beautiful red meat, I do not like the idea that I am not assured of its quality. This is something we must seriously consider.

Another cut was made in respect of dead animals. It will now cost €70 to remove a dead animal from a field where it used to cost €35, or €30 for a small calf. Farmers are affected at every turn. I ask the Minister of State to reverse immediately these dreadful budgetary cuts.