Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I welcome this debate. Agriculture is an indigenous industry of essential economic importance to the future, as it has been in the past. Despite what Senators on the Government side may believe, the Opposition is not being political but reflecting the views and concerns of the farming community. Ireland has more than 131,300 farm holdings and according to 2006 figures, primary agriculture employed 109,100 people, while the agrifood sector employed 163,200 people. These sectors make a vast contribution to the economy and must be proactively supported in every possible way by the Government to deliver economic investment in the country.

We all agree that serious economic challenges lie ahead. The budget attacked farming. I remind Senator Ó Domhnaill who referred to events in 1995 that for the past ten years, Ireland has enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom. A major budget deficit has arisen in the past 12 months and the Government has cut funding for sectors across the economy. It has attacked the old and young and is now attacking the farming sector.

I acknowledge that the Green Party Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, has a genuine interest in the food sector, vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, allotments and greener organic food products. While his interest is commendable, the wider commercial farming sector urgently needs the Government's assistance. Government policies and the funding available to implement them will determine how sustainable the farming sector will be in future. If we cannot incentivise farming and encourage young farmers by giving them a belief they can sustain viable livelihoods for themselves and their families, what is the point? Farming must remain sustainable. We must create a demand for food production.

The challenge facing the Government is to create incentives for farmers. What incentives did it introduce in the budget? It disincentivised young people from entering agriculture. In recent years, young farmers have been forced to subsidise their incomes by working in other sectors such as construction. These opportunities have vanished and income from jobs in the building sector is no longer available for young people who also helped their parents on the farm. This calls into question the viability of such farms, whether in the dairy industry, tillage, beef or sheep farming. This has made the budget cuts in agriculture especially savage, especially when one considers the introduction of a 1% levy on gross income.

The installation aid and early retirement schemes provided significant incentives to young people to become involved in the running of their families' farms. As Senators are aware, credit has dried up. If these schemes were still available, young farmers engaged in the farming practice for which they are qualified would have €30,000 at their disposal. This benefit has been swept from under their feet and they must face the problem of securing credit to support their farming work.

Senators referred to the reduction in the suckler cow welfare scheme. This welcome scheme has been undermined and the budgetary measure removes another incentive for young people to enter sustainable farming. Senator Ó Domhnaill referred to the disadvantaged areas scheme. Of 100,000 farmers eligible under the scheme, almost 40,000 will lose almost €1,500 per annum. This is real life where real money is going down the tubes. The loss of so many layers of income to family farms affects their viability and sustainability. We are either real about how we support this indigenous industry or we are not. Senators Boyle and Ó Domhnaill mentioned previously that the cuts in farming were essential owing to the current economic climate. I would argue that had we not splurged and blown the boom as we did, we would have had a great deal more money with which to sustain the schemes for helping young farmers.

They question Fine Gael policies and proposals. Be assured that if Fine Gael were in power, we would not impose these cuts affecting the early entry into farming of young farmers. In our alternative budgetary announcements we talked about recovery through reform. We proposed a pay freeze on public sector workers earning €50,000 a year and over. We understand that this is neither a popular nor palliative proposal. However, it is a reality proposal that we believe would help sustain areas right across the board.

For example, if that proposal were adopted by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, it would save €12 million alone that could be reinvested in farming. Some €37 million has been set aside in 2009 for research and training. It is welcome, but that is on top of a Teagasc budget of €122 million. Has the Government looked at Teagasc and that area of the public sector to see whether it is delivering in an efficient and proactive manner without adding expenditure to those areas? We should be investing at the farm gate and on farm lands rather than in the public sector.

I want to mention the elephant in the room, to which some Senators have referred, namely, a 20% reduction in emissions by 2020. That will have serious implications for the future of Irish agriculture and there is no point in denying it. The Minister of State said that we have a future in the beef and dairy sectors. If we take the climate change targets seriously, however, it is a fact of life that the future of the national herd will be called into question if there are to be reductions in what is already being emitted. We all know how dependent we are on the national herd and on the dairy and beef industries. If we have to comply with these targets, there will be problems because the projections are that the national herd should actually increase. That is a niche area of which Ireland and agriculture in general can take advantage, namely, the production of beef on our home soil and exporting that to other markets. If that future viability is called into question by climate change targets, then we are just transferring dairy and beef production across the world and, as some Senators have said, increasing the carbon footprint.

This is a clarion call to politicians on all sides as well as to the farming organisations to the effect that if we do not get to grips with this conundrum and square the circle, the future of farming will be in serious trouble. This is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. I certainly hope the Department is negotiating as best it can in Europe and other places to try to ensure Irish agriculture and its future as fare as the national herd is concerned is protected. I ask the Minister of State to give this matter his special focus and attention because it has serious implications for the future of agriculture in Ireland.