Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

To delete all words after “Seanad Eireann” and substitute the following:

“notes:- the major role agriculture plays in creating employment, generating economic activity and acting as a custodian of the countryside in Ireland;

- the competitive advantage Ireland has in sustainable livestock production, particularly dairy, beef and sheep farming, based on a grass-based production system, which is both relatively low cost and carbon efficient;

- the shared Food Wise 2025 strategy for the development of the sector, which highlights the opportunities to grow the value of farm output, value added and agri-food exports; growth that must be managed in an environmentally sustainable manner;

- the unique vulnerability and exposure of agriculture to fluctuations in the weather;

- the on-going hardship due to fluctuations in the weather and the sacrifices farming families have made to protect their livestock;

- the role the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc, Co-operatives, Farming organisations and farmers have played in working through this challenging period;

- the securing of an increased advance payment in October 2017 under Pillar I and Pillar II of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP);

- the payment of €1.6 billion in CAP direct payments to Irish farmers before the end of 2017, providing an important source of income support for farm families;

- that for the first time, in winter/spring of 2017/2018, under a new Sheep Welfare Scheme, advance payments totalling €16 million issued to sheep farmers, with a further €3 million to issue in the coming weeks, providing valuable support to the sheep sector;

- the securing of an additional €25 million in Budget 2018 for payments under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme, where the highest level of support is targeted at those who are faced with the highest level of constraint on their land, bringing the total amount allocated to the 2018 ANC Scheme to €227 million;

- the prioritisation by Teagasc of the provision of direct support to these farmers through fodder budgeting and nutritional advice, not only then, but throughout the winter and spring;

- the convening of a stakeholder group chaired by Teagasc comprising of all the main stakeholders including feed merchants and Co-operatives, banking and farm bodies to monitor the fodder situation;

- the timely introduction of a targeted Transport Subsidy Scheme to address the shortage of supplies of fodder in the North and North West in January this year;

- that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is in regular contact with all the stakeholders following the introduction of this scheme;

- the timely introduction of a Fodder Import Support Scheme to cover all Co-operatives and importers approved by the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to import fodder;

- the extension of the deadline for the submission of Nitrates derogation plans until 30th April, 2018;

- the extension of grazing under the Traditional Hay Meadows (THM) measure in GLAS until 1st May, 2018;

- the securing of a commitment towards flexibility in the ‘three crop rule’ under Greening requirements in Pillar 1 of the CAP;

- the availability of rapid emergency feed assistance to any farmer facing immediate feed shortage through the Department's Animal Welfare Helpline that supports the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council's Early Warning Intervention System (EWS);

- the need to ensure that farmers are adequately equipped with the necessary knowledge and advice to deal with fluctuations in the weather and to keep fodder supplies under review;

- the one-to-one assistance being provided to farmers by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to lodge their Basic Payment Scheme applications;

- the continuous monitoring of the situation by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Teagasc;

- the increased regularity of severe weather events and the need to consider the inclusion of appropriate risk management tools to mitigate against the impacts of such events on farming enterprises in the next iteration of the CAP.”

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad Chamber and I welcome the opportunity to debate this issue. The sun is shining in Dublin today but I know from talking to farmers in Mayo and elsewhere that it is not necessarily shining there and in fact shines a lot less. While the sun is shining, farmers are dealing with a grim situation. The Minister, Deputy Creed, appeared before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine last week and going back to the Easter weekend, because the weather did not turn and we still had a cold biting wind, there was no growth. The ground was wet and ground conditions were poor. We would have hoped that things might have advanced naturally a lot better than they have but that is not the case. Animals still are being housed. Last weekend, some farmers attempted to let their cattle out for a few days, especially dairy farmers, but they are back in again. In the meantime, since we last spoke, it has been necessary to provide another two weeks of fodder for these animals. Animals still cannot be let out at present because they will dig up the ground and no crops will grow to provide fodder for next year. Farmers are in an awful bind. We talk about low-cost loans and about flexibility with banks and co-operatives but there are farmers who cannot get credit from their co-operatives any more. Co-operatives are places with which dairy farmers in particular deal but this is not so much the case with suckler farmers. They are not necessarily getting credit and the banks are not necessarily showing flexibility. We cannot assume they are and this is a predicament farmers face. They continue to have to feed their animals. I argue that in the north and north west, the fact that this problem was coming down the line was first highlighted when many farmers failed to cut a second crop of silage last autumn, as they normally would have done. We knew immediately that there would be a problem, that farmers would not be able to provide for their animals in the normal way, that is, the most efficient and cheapest way that farmers can. Since then, things have got worse around the country with the extended winter and bad weather. I argue that the farmers in the west and north west are in the worst and most difficult position because some of them have already been buying fodder since January. Many of them have been buying additional meal to stretch their fodder. I must agree that the initial transport scheme that was suggested worked very well. I welcome the flexibilities that were introduced but farmers are dealing with a depressing situation. My fear- not just for farmers - comes from considering the input that farming and the farming community have to local economies.Rural market towns throughout the country are dependent on farmers and their spending power. If farmers are up to their necks in debt trying to pay for fodder, with another bill coming down the tracks for fertiliser as they will have to fertilise the land, there will be far less in their pockets for spending in the local economy. I foresee a depression in rural market towns because if the farmers' circumstances are on the up, the circumstances of these towns are on the up but, currently, that is not the case. There is a case to be made, with strict criteria, for farmers who are in very difficult situations to be assisted. If we do not find some type of formula, and we all accept that the weather is not going to improve suddenly and that we will have to deal with varied and inclement weather for longer periods, many people will leave farming. Many of the farms where I live are marginal in any case, so why would one opt to farm when there are plenty of options in cities? We are near to having full employment so why would one plan a career in farming if one is a suckler cow farmer? These are very big challenges. I cited this at the committee because it is quite sobering.

The reality is that this is a weather problem. I agree with the Minister, Deputy Creed, that if he had announced last November or December that he was going to start importing fodder, people would have laughed at him. That does not mean one should not try to take measures. There was fodder in other parts of the country, and the issue was how to get it to the farmers who needed it. I believe the crisis is as much a financial crisis for farmers, especially for those in the west and north west. They have paid on a large scale and most of them have not been able to avail of the transport subsidy scheme because it was unworkable for them.

We cannot blame the Minister for the weather. In 2014, according to figures from the Department, there were 6.3 million cattle in this country. In 2018, before counting calves and the additional stock that are due to be counted by May, the national herd is 7.4 million cattle. In all our plans, our objective is to ramp up production on all sides, so this will be a recurring problem. We must get a handle on how we are going to deal with this into the future. There are issues with overstocking, which some farmers have been encouraged to do as there is no milk quota any more. There must be a reality check about what is happening or we will have farmers on the bread line and people will not wish to get involved in farming. If that happens we will not achieve the Food Wise 2025 targets.

I welcome the news about the opening of the Chinese market which was announced by the Minister, Deputy Creed, during the week. There is great potential there, but we must get this issue right. I accept that the Minister is monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis but we will continue to be reminded of these realities, both in this House and in the agriculture committee, and of the fall-out from what has happened with the weather. If it does not improve, we will be talking about this issue a great deal more and very soon again.