Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to arrange for an urgent debate, with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, in attendance, on the crisis facing dairy farmers with the new proposals and with the abolition of quotas.

The quota system which was imposed on us by Europe was a retrograde step and it was wrong. However, that is history now. There is good news and bad news. What happened when the quotas were imposed in the area in which I live is that in excess of 50% of farmers got out of milk because it was not viable. My difficulty is that apart from the proposed price structure next year where farmers will be asked to produce milk at cost, with little or no profit - as little as 1 cent or 2 cent per litre - we could face a serious crisis, which will have a knock-on effect on companies such as Glanbia and other major producers if they do not have a supply of milk. My concern is that many young farmers have borrowed and are currently developing and expanding their herds and facilities for new production. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, with the help of our new Commissioner in Europe, Phil Hogan, should seriously seek to ensure we do not have a catastrophic situation in the new year. A significant difficulty exists.

The New Zealand model is based on producing milk at 21 cent and 22 cent a litre. It is not possible to achieve milk production at such cost in Ireland. In New Zealand there are huge factory farms where 2,000 and 3,000 cows are milked. I do not wish such a model to be replicated in this country as it would bring an end to family farms where farmers milk between 80 and 120 cows. That would be a sad day. We need urgent and early intervention as much concern and worry is evident.

I did not speak on the matter yesterday but I wish to express my sympathy on the death of the man who died on the streets of Dublin. There is much talk of the 99 units, or however many, in the north inner city currently lying idle. Archbishop Martin made inquiries on the matter yesterday. The matter should be investigated as the organisation describes itself as a Catholic one. When the Archbishop inquired about the reason for the delay in the houses in question being ready for use by those who are homeless or need shelter he was told to basically get lost, that it was none of his concern, and that even though the organisation is described as a Catholic one, that it is a non-denominational organisation. That fact should be put on record.