Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I thank Members for the opportunity to attend here to deal with the issue. I wish to update the House on what the industry is doing collectively and what we, as a Department, are doing to respond to what in the past three weeks or so has turned into a fodder access crisis for many farmers.

People will be very familiar with the weather over the past 18 months. The reason we have a significant fodder shortage now is because we had no summer last year. That resulted in a poor quantity and quality of silage put in storage last winter and we knew that it would lead to problems. There has been a suggestion that we have only focused on the fodder crisis in the past three weeks but that is simply not true. We have worked with farm organisations, Teagasc, in particular, and through my Department with the farm animal welfare advisory council. We have worked with farmers and have tried to get them through what we knew would be an expensive and difficult winter. They had to supplement the roughage on their farms with extra meal in order to raise the protein levels for their cattle. People had hoped not to have to deal with a bad spring too. Regrettably, following no summer last year and an extended winter we then had no spring either. The reality is that farmers simply ran out of fodder in many parts of the country and many farmers cannot access fodder at any price. We responded to the crisis by importing very large volumes of hay, maize and some haylage to meet demand for the first time ever. The shortage primarily relates to roughage, not meal. Suppliers in Ireland have plenty of meal available. The key issue is sourcing roughage for animals.

The Department has and continues to run an animal welfare helpline that can be availed of by people or, in this case, farmers who for whatever reason cannot afford to buy or access fodder. In such cases we have encouraged farmers to contact my Department which will intervene and pay for emergency fodder to ensure that animals are fed. For the past fortnight I have repeatedly said that there is no reason for an animal to starve in Ireland as there is no limit on what we will spend to feed animals. Farmers have been under incredible stress trying to feed animals and unable to access the volumes of fodder required. In those cases I have encouraged people to telephone Lo-Call 1850 122 990 and we will help them. We have received over 500 calls so far. Over 100 of them have been extreme cases where we had to intervene directly, quickly, confidentially and sensitively using local veterinary offices. It normally costs between €200 and €1,000 to get farmers through a difficult period and getting feed delivered to their yards but we picked up the tab. That facility was available all winter and will continue through the summer and next winter.

In extreme cases farmers should not feel restricted in terms of contacting us. They will be provided with confidential assistance and help. We put the remaining 400 people in contact with co-ops, grain merchants or marts that will have fodder. We did that because some farmers have credit or available cash but do not know where to access fodder. Those initiatives are proof of a successful partnership between my Department, farming organisations, dairy co-ops, other co-ops, marts, Teagasc and private consultants who have links with district veterinary offices. We have all tried to ensure that the people in extreme distress get the help that they need quickly for their well-being and that of their animals.

A number of weeks ago we examined the possibility of giving support to encourage the importation of very large volumes of fodder because we could see the predicted shortage happening over a short period. There were calls for a €10 million fodder scheme for farmers. That would have involved putting together a complex scheme that farmers would probably not have gotten any cash out of until August, at the earliest. Every farmer would probably have applied to the scheme because everyone has been affected by the crisis to some extent. We felt that the scheme would be a waste of money. Instead, we decided to focus on the problem of getting large volumes of fodder into the country using public money to make it happen. That is why we subsidised the transport costs of importing fodder which was primarily through dairy co-ops because they cover the vast majority of the country. We are also working with some others to fill the gaps.

First, that has put pressure and an incentive on dairy co-ops to bring in large volumes of fodder while that subsidy is available because we need this to happen over a short period. Second, it has ensured that when fodder comes into the country it is affordable for farmers. For example, this has reduced the cost of accessing hay by between one third and a half, depending on transport costs, where it is coming from and who is bringing it in. That has also ensured that farmers can buy hay at normal prices, rather than at significantly higher rates which include transport costs. Much of this hay was coming from places such as Kent in England, which involved an eight-hour drive and a ferry crossing. That resulted in quite significant transport costs which we are helping to subsidise.

We focused on the nucleus of the problem, which was trying to get large volumes of fodder into farmyards at affordable prices in as short a period as possible. This is not a perfect response, far from it, but I think we have done a reasonable job. Farming organisations, co-ops and farmers themselves recognise the volumes that are coming in. As of yesterday, 730 loads of hay and maize silage had been brought into the country. To put that into perspective, that is enough to feed 2.2 million animals per day. By the end of this week there will be another 170 to 200 loads, so we are approaching 1,000 loads which is the equivalent of feed for 2.5 million animals. It is a really significant contribution over a ten-day period as our herd size is only 6.5 million.

I do not want to pretend that everything is okay because this crisis is continuing. We have a very poor weather forecast for the next few days with lots more rain. Temperatures are between nine and 14 degrees which, certainly for those farming at high altitude, will mean that grass growth will not be strong in the coming few days. We therefore need to continue to bring in large volumes of fodder and I am encouraging that.

This time last week, we extended the deadline for the fodder scheme from last Friday to this Friday. We are now saying that organisations that are bringing in fodder will be able to do so next week and the week after, but they need to tell us before tomorrow evening how much they are bringing in so that we can get a handle on the volumes. I do not want simply to extend the deadline every week and have a drip-feed of emergency hay coming in that is just about enough to meet demand and no more.

What we want instead is a very significant volume coming in over a short period that overshoots the runway in terms of the required volume. In that way, farmers can deal with this fodder shortage once and for all and put some hay, silage or maize into storage as an insurance mechanism in case we have the kind of summer we had last year. I want to keep the pressure on those importing large volumes of fodder to do so and talk to us about the volumes they are planning to introduce next week and show us proof of purchase. We will then cover them under the scheme whose delivery has essentially been extended into next week, as long as they give us a clear picture and proof of purchase before tomorrow evening.

I recognise the work that co-ops have done in this regard, including smaller ones such as Drinagh Co-op in west Cork, and larger ones such as Dairygold which has brought in nearly half of all the fodder. Others are responding in imaginative and effective ways, including Glanbia's initiative on maize. The Kerry Group, Connacht Gold, Lakeland and many others are all focused on solving this problem collectively.

I was encouraged last night that we did not divide the Dáil on this issue. Deputy Ó Cuív said he would not push the Fianna Fáil motion to a vote in recognition that this was a moment of solidarity to try to collectively solve what is a significant crisis for the farming sector and the agrifood sector generally. A collective effort is under way involving farming organisations, co-ops, Opposition spokespersons and the Government, and it is working.

The idea that Ireland would be importing grass is almost like a joke to many people in other parts of Europe. It is like the Eskimos importing snow. Many people view Ireland as a country that grows grass for fun, which is why we have a fantastic grass-based beef, dairy and lamb production system that is so effective. However, we have had to deal with extraordinary weather conditions that have resulted in a serious reality check for the farming sector. How do we ensure that this does not happen again? If we assume the worst, which is that we would get no summer again this year, as in 2012, we must plan for that and we are doing so.