Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the previous speakers. I cannot overestimate how valuable the agricultural sector is to our country. It has been widely predicted that Brexit could wipe out parts of the agricultural sector entirely. To say that this sector is vulnerable and is probably hanging by a thread is putting it mildly. The farmers with whom I speak, many of whom are friends of mine, are very vulnerable. A total of 90% of the beef our hard-working beef farmers produce is exported, of which half is exported to Great Britain. Our beef is high quality and sought after yet we have not done enough to support the very people who rely on us to support them. They are the very people across this country who rear and care for the cattle producing this high-quality product. Over 100,000 farms are involved in cattle production. I hear of a backlog pushing prices down and farmers giving up family farms, such is the severity of the pressure on family finances.

I am glad an agreement was reached recently but it was hard won. As previous speakers have said, it is about pricing, which is a significant issue. The Minister spoke about the task force. Can he give a date as to when this task force will be up and running? This summer, farmers needed support. I stood with the local farmers for fairness and a proper reward for good, honest hard work. Farmers have been very much left behind by this Government, particularly small farmers, who feel very left behind. They are the ones who get up early in the morning before the rest of us and who go to bed after the rest of us. The Minister knows that last year was a special kind of hell for farmers with almost biblical weather conditions from one season to the next. We had frost, snow, rain, floods, falling cattle prices, increased costs, the erosion of direct payments and the ever-present threat of Brexit. Yet who did we call on to pull us out of the ditches in the heavy snow? Who did we call on to clear the roads nobody could get to? We called on the farmers. We cannot let farmers down time and again and then, when we need their tractors to pull us out of trouble, expect them to be there. We are approaching winter with storms causing damage at the moment. The pressure on this sector is enormous. We will not be able to ask farmers for help if we are unable to help them. Farmers are greatly affected by weather and it is hard when someone produces such a great product. We have the best product ever. We are entering the winter period when storms are again causing problems. This will be significant.

It is time to ensure fairness. We in rural Ireland must always stand together to support our own. We must give hope to our young farmers to help them stick with an industry that is centuries old. The first Irishmen were farmers. We owe it to our ancestors and the farmers of this country to give them a sustainable industry. We need a sustainable pathway for the beef sector to have any future. This Government needs to ensure that real support is there. With the United Kingdom leaving the EU, we need to ensure that we can find financial support to sustain our farmers. To give them the faith to continue, we need assurances from the EU that we can access CAP market disturbance funding, particularly when we know that a reduction in the overall CAP budget is coming down the track.

The next cycle of the CAP for 2021 to 2027 has a number of reforms and new terms.The Government needs to make sure that our farmers are educated about these new reforms and terms under the climate mitigation and environmental programmes that will be mandatory for them. We need to know that there is a commitment and communication. This is what it all boils down to. We need to ensure that we support education and supports for our young farmers as well as fair pricing and fairness for all shareholders in the production of our beef in order that the sector can continue as it has for years. Farmers feel let down, especially small farmers who have been farming for a long time. Ireland is known for its agriculture; we have the best. I feel from speaking to farmers who I stood on the picket line with that their confidence was knocked, that they were let down and that no one was listening to them. We are where we are today. We need to get this sorted and get this task force up and running. I will ask the Minister for a date for that. We need to make sure that we give our farmers financial support and we also need to know that they feel that the Government is listening to them. We will not have a future without our farmers.