Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being here. We could do with five hours instead of five minutes to discuss all of the farming issues.

I am glad that the Minister raised the issue of rare breeds. I sought a specific debate on rare breeds with him in attendance but for the moment I shall say the following. In terms of the funding of €50,000 that has been made available, the Minister knows that the scheme is way oversubscribed. If we are serious about rare breeds and how beneficial they are, then there must be greater investment. I firmly believe that there will be a return on such investment because the people who promote rare breeds are very diligent. We need to take them seriously as they can answer many of our questions. I ask him to seriously consider providing more funding and I ask that we have a more comprehensive debate at some stage.

I want to talk to the Minister about a number of issues. There is a pensions anomaly with the farm assist scheme. We have instances where farmers have paid stamps, particularly between 2000 and 2007. However, on reaching pension age a review is conducted but zero stamps have been recorded. The farmers should have sought credits rather than pay stamps. I ask the Minister to consider the anomaly and perhaps we will have a further conversation on the matter outside of this debate.

I want to talk to the Minister about the appeals system. We must change a system whereby one director on the independent appeals board has a pile of files because it delays farm payments. Legislation allows just one director to assess appeals, which is totally wrong. I know of one farmer whose payments have been delayed for four years and the farming family is in desperate need of the payments. Again, I ask the Minister to consider the matter.

The year 2017 was a record year for agrifood exports which amounted to €12.5 billion. Why then are so many farmers struggling financially? Some elements in the food chain enjoyed a bumper year while most farmers have struggled with static prices and the ever-increasing cost of inputs. Milk prices have achieved a sustainable level after a few years of poor prices. What guarantees are in place in the milk sector, particular as it is expanding and there is a Brexit threat to trade in our biggest market which is the UK?

I represent the area that is west of the River Shannon where cattle and sheep farms form 75% of the holdings and dairying is an unrealistic option. Therefore, the viability of these holdings have never been more in the spotlight. One can see from reading the Teagasc farm household survey 2016 that the average income generated by the family farm was €15,000, an amount that is often quoted in the media as the norm. However, in large parts of the Border, midlands and western region, BMW, such income is a pipe dream. Teagasc carries out a separate survey for the region called the small farms survey. Teagasc has defined a small farm as a farm with 14 cows or fewer. In the region where I come from over half of all farms are described as small farms. In the Teagasc small farm survey of 2015 the family farm income was recorded as less than €3,000.