Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am always intrigued by the credentials of other Senators. I commend Senator Richmond on putting his credentials on the record. Some people might ask about my credentials in agriculture so I will put them on the record. I have licences to breed pigs and rear poultry and I previously showed and trained ponies so I think my credentials are pretty okay for a Labour Party guy in Seanad Éireann.

I commend the Minister and Government on the work that has been done to date. Unlike a previous speaker, I believe that much work is actually being done. We are in an area of unknowns but I take great solace from a recent round of discussions that I had in my capacity as chairman of the economic committee of the British–Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, which is holding an inquiry into the effects of Brexit on the agrifood sector both North and South. We attended Stormont on 13 October where we consulted with, among other groups, the Ulster Farmers Union, the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association and many environmental groups. On 14 October, we consulted here in Leinster House with the IFA, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, the Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers Association, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Teagasc, the Irish Exporters Association and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I intentionally left the Department until last. I want to put on the record my gratitude to a departmental staff member, Paul Savage, for the effort he put in that day in bringing us up to speed on all that is ongoing in this country in respect of the outcome of Brexit. On the other hand, I must also record my condemnation of the lack of appearance from the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. I have since written to the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Michelle McIlveen, stating the economic committee's disappointment at the response we received, which was that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs had nothing to say on the matter. I will leave it at that. Our disapproval has been registered and has gone by post.

It is true to say that nobody knows the outcome and that the uncertainty is the biggest problem in respect of this issue. A voice is badly needed in respect of the issue of currency fluctuations for the main players in the agri sector. Most people do not understand the term "hedging". I am talking about SMEs. I will not go into individual commentary because it was of a private nature but one of the speakers at an inquiry meeting in Dublin could not express the importance he placed on a forum that would provide information to mainstream farming and the agri sector in respect of currency fluctuations and their implications post-Brexit. In his speech, the Minister said that Enterprise Ireland is doing some work in this area. He mentioned some other group as well. I would like to know exactly what they are doing. I have taken soundings in my constituency from people I know in the farming industry and none of them has heard anything from anybody on this. As the Minister knows, sterling has dropped 40% in the past year. It has already been said so I will not go into it but Senator Paul Daly spent a lot of time talking about the mushroom industry and I completely support him. One of the businesses that was lost was in Tipperary and it is all because Irish exporters of produce must take produce off the shelves in the UK because while the market is there, they are losing money by leaving it on the shelves. This is an area in which they need to be educated.

Loss of market has already been outlined. It is a loss of market both ways. A total of 50% of Northern Ireland beef and milk comes to the South while about 45% of pigs go North so we are not just talking about the €7 billion worth of exports that go to the UK. We are talking about North-South trade. I am very concerned about the mixed political messages. One of the main political parties in Northern Ireland, the DUP, voted in favour of Brexit while others voted against. They are now telling us that they are totally engaged with the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, who was supposedly a "Remain" supporter but who certainly did not break any sweat in respect of it. Mixed messages are coming to the market and there are mixed messages internationally. That also feeds into the difficulty we face because we are going to be minus a market worth €64 million. The Northern Ireland farmers' associations are concerned. They provide a quality product that meets all of the requirements of EU standardisation, as we do, but the UK mainstream is already looking to bring in produce from South America that does not meet any standards we meet. It is not directly our area but this problem will impact on us and the Minister should address it.

I know Senator Paul Daly has a particular interest in the horse racing industry in this country. If one reads this week's The Irish Field, one will see where markers are falling because of sterling. One will also see that trainers are falling. One example is given in a two-page article of 26 horses in training. The net profit for the trainer per month is €847.That is unsustainable. I request that the Minister attend the House at another time for a debate on the horse racing industry in view of the fact that Brexit has implications for it.

The disadvantaged areas scheme has been mentioned. However, I wish to ask that the Minister consider another matter. There are flood plains across the country. Last week, a group from the Blackwater Valley in counties Waterford and Cork visited Leinster House. The group's problem is not with the disadvantaged areas scheme, but with flooding. There is annual flooding. In the mid 1990s when the late Noel Davern was Minister of State with responsibility for agriculture, I, as a councillor, proposed to him that we provide a set-aside scheme for farms that were flooded annually. When making our submission to Europe, there is an opportunity to seize on this idea. I am prepared to give the Minister information on this and to discuss it with him.

What practical steps are being taken in the context of the €150 million fund the Minister has commendably included in the budget? How will North-South trade pan out? Many of the companies that trade in the North, particularly in beef, also trade in the South. Will jobs move south as a result of Brexit?