Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was listening to the debate from my office. I commend Senator Paul Daly for tabling the motion and I acknowledge the Sinn Féin amendment. I support both. This is a crucial issue which affects a large number of farmers and farms across the country. It is having more of an impact economically and socially on smaller farmers than on larger farmers, given the capital constraints which smaller farmers are under and their lack of ability to raise any finance to buy necessary feeding material. In the north west this has had, and continues to have, a huge impact. As Senator Lombard has said, despite the fact that the sun is shining today, land in the north west is effectively waterlogged and it is very difficult to farm. I come from a small farm. We ran out of material just like other farms. The cost of replacing or replenishing it is very substantial.

I know that this is an issue for which the Department has been heavily criticised. However, while some of that criticism is fair, there are other issues outside of the control of the Department and farmers which need to be taken into consideration and addressed for the long term. There is a short-term issue here. The Minister and the Department have spoken about the establishment of a hardship fund. The co-ops have done some valuable work. There is a short-term solution with regard to getting people through this process. There are probably also farmers out there who are too proud to ask for assistance. That is also a big issue in respect of farmers who find themselves isolated financially but who are also isolated because they feel too proud to ask for support. That issue needs to be dealt with compassionately on the ground. I ask that the Department instruct Teagasc to deal with this issue on the ground in as effective a manner as possible, whether that be through holding clinics or local meetings, or getting on the ground. It is fair enough to set up and announce all the schemes, but we have to grapple with the issue locally as well and provide whatever support we can.

In terms of financial assistance to get through this crisis, the warm weather will come and temperatures are due to rise. That is a fact. It is also a fact, however, that our climate is changing for the long term and that climate change is causing massive problems. There has been research done on the effects of projected climate change on Irish agriculture over the next 30 years. My fear is that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is perhaps not doing enough to address this. It is coming at us fast. Projections from Teagasc and other academic researchers predict that rainfall will increase by 10% by 2050. That is during the winter period. By 2050 rainfall in the summer period is expected to decrease by between 12% and 17%. There are changing circumstances coming towards us. That will have an impact on the type of grass that will grow and on the economic output of each farm. We have to be ready for that and farmers have to be ready for that.

We need to look at making sure that the best available research is made available to farmers at the local level. We need to provide reassurance that whatever training is required will be provided, but also that financial assistance will be provided to farmers who need to change their farming enterprise model. That will have to happen if we are to meet the objectives set out, for example, in Food Wise 2025, particularly the productivity objectives. If we are going to meet those objectives post 2020 we need to look at bringing all of that research together, informing farmers and assisting them economically.

There is much work to be done. There is a short-term programme required over the coming weeks to get farmers through this very difficult period. I would love to hear the Minister of State's perspective on the long-term strategy because we can expect that this will happen again next winter. The probability is high that it will. What is the long-term strategy not just for next winter, but for every other winter between now and 2050 and 2080, when climate change will have had a much bigger impact on the world and our environmental footprint? There is a longer-term issue. We politicians generally talk about short-term cycles. Everyone is now focused on the terrible crisis before us this week, next week and the week after. We sometimes forget once the sunshine comes. There is a need for long-term planning. That may well mean that a certain element of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, budget will have to be used to assist farmers, particularly younger farmers, in adapting their enterprises in order to be economically viable into the future so that we will not see a situation in which smaller farms are gobbled up due to Teagasc not providing them with the wherewithal, resources and research capabilities. That is all I have to say. I am glad to have the opportunity to support the motion here tonight.