Phil Prendergast (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to Seanad Éireann and I appreciate the opportunity to present my party's views on farming and the agrifood sector, which is a vitally important indigenous industry.

Many difficulties face Irish farming at present and they have been well articulated by my colleagues, already. There is the free fall in farming incomes and the collapse in milk and beef prices as well as the problems to do with food labelling, the ever-changing deadlines imposed by the Department for applications for grant aid, the world trade talks and the list goes on. Cattle farmers are in chronic crisis owing to the flooding and bad spring which required that cattle be rehoused and fed. The resulting glut of cattle cannot be sold owing to the market forces at work. No industry has a future if it fails to come up with new methods of dealing with crises in its sector.

This Government has done more than any group of bureaucrats in Europe to harm this industry. My long held belief is that this Fianna Fáil-led Government has lost touch with rural Ireland, a view regularly expressed to me when I meet people. The abolition of the farm retirement and installation aid schemes will have a detrimental effect on the rural way of life. I know the Minister of State will have heard all this before. These cuts have made and will continue to make farming an unviable option for most, if not all, young people. Farmers in their late 50s and 60s will not be able to afford to retire. In turn, without the installation aid, their sons or daughters will not be able to afford to start up in farming, as already evidenced in south Tipperary where there has been much change of mind by people in terms of their careers. These schemes were meant to assist and entice new people, the next generation, into the industry. Without the schemes, farming is not an option.

The Government is allowing an entire indigenous industry and way of life die out. It is important to note that this industry has been the backbone of the economy for generations, a fact mentioned by the Minister of State in his contribution. The Government is driving the final nail in the coffin through the removal of these schemes, which is a vote of no confidence in rural Ireland. It is equivalent to pulling the rug out from under the many farmers who worked hard in poor times to ensure they would have something to hand on to the next generation. There was a great sense of pride in farmers being able to pass on their farms to their children and being able to trace back their contributions down through the years. As a rural representative, rural Ireland is important to me. I do not believe it is good enough to hear Members of this House say one thing on the plinth and then do the exact opposite in this House in terms of following the party line when voting on issues that affect the people of rural Ireland. There has been much evidence of Members of the Lower House saying one thing when in the Chamber and another at constituency level.

Rural Ireland relies almost entirely on agriculture. This is because the Government has failed to invest in these areas of the country. It has shown no vision in attracting other industries to rural Ireland, a matter which is perhaps a debate for another day. If farming dies away, so too does rural Ireland. I have referred previously in this House to farmers' markets. As mayor of Clonmel I had the great pleasure of inviting the Minister of State to the area to discuss where the farmers' market might be cited. Farmers' markets are an indication of what good management and local farmers working together can do. I do not wish to be all negative. I recognise that positive initiatives have been taken.

Fianna Fáil's vision of rural Ireland is not good. Its legacy is that of a boom squandered and a time of unparalleled wealth wasted. There is palpable anger and fear in the farming community. I frequently receive calls at my office from farmers who believe they have nowhere else to go and nothing to fall back on. They believe they have been abandoned by Government. It is the job of Government to provide the necessary leadership to allay the evident fear and uncertainty. I am sure I am not the only Member receiving these types of phone calls to my office.

The agrifood sector is one of Ireland's most important indigenous industries, employing in the region of 50,000 people directly and providing the primary outlet for the produce of 128,000 family farms. These jobs are dispersed throughout all regions of Ireland, in particular rural areas. The sector accounts for half of purchased Irish goods and services by the manufacturing industry and just over half of exports by indigenous manufacturing industries. It is an industry that is vital to the future of the economy. There has never been a more important time than this special day when more vitality in the economy is needed. It has huge potential. Like my colleague in the Lower House, Deputy Sherlock, I call on the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith, and the Government to be more creative in finding ways to create jobs in the agrifood sector.

The Labour Party recently proposed that employers creating new jobs and taking people off the live register should be given a PRSI break, a proposal that could have a positive impact for small companies at local level in rural Ireland. We should put in place a scheme that would exempt employers who employ a person that has been unemployed for more than six months and can demonstrate clearly that they are creating a new job from paying employer's PRSI for 18 months. This measure would incentivise the creation of local jobs and would get people back into employment in areas where it is most needed, in particular in rural Ireland. We should apply more effort and ingenuity in supporting indigenous industry and should never forget that the agricultural sector accounts directly for 5.2% of total employment and indirectly a further 6% in processing, marketing and services, a total of 230,000 Irish jobs, which is no mean achievement these days.

We need to create a stimulus to encourage farmers to diversify into local needs agriculture and horticultural produce by encouraging and fostering more farmers' markets. I visit the farmers' markets in Clonmel and Cahir and when I am away I seek out the farmers' markets in the area I am visiting. I like to visit farmers' markets which are amazing places to meet local producers and see their pride in making available to people fresh, locally grown produce. Traas's apple farm in Tipperary recently received an award for its quality produce. It is wonderful to visit that farm and to meet the many people who support that industry and appreciate the hard work involved in it. There is no incentive for those working in agri-related businesses to create jobs. This is the very sector the Government should be supporting given its real potential in terms of job creation.

I thank the Minister of State for listening to my contribution. I believe not all I have had to contribute has been negative. I acknowledge the positives initiated by the Minister of State. I again acknowledge and welcome the €2 million in funding being made available in respect of the fodder aid scheme. Farmers affected in this regard are truly on their knees. I do not know what good news the Minister of State can offer this dying breed.