Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The anti-dumping tariff ranges from €28 per tonne to €32 per tonne for CAN, which is now a smaller portion of the overall cost because fertiliser prices have rocketed. At the start of this year the tariff was 10% of the price but because prices have rocketed the tariff is now a smaller portion. Nonetheless, it is another cost for farmers and I am determined to address this issue at European level. At national level, we have a lot of latent capacity in how efficiently we use organic fertiliser. There is a particular supply in Cavan-Monaghan as it is a region that is at the beating heart of the poultry sector at a national level. The constituency has significant pig, dairy and other sectors. How we use that efficiently and ensure farmers seek to replace chemical fertilisers with a better use of organic fertilisers will be important and I have given the task to Teagasc. Professor Frank O'Mara and his team are doing a lot work on how we can advise farmers to best use organic fertilisers in the time ahead, and how we can ensure that there is more collaboration between farm types so that the poultry sector, for example, can work with the livestock or tillage sectors to make the most use of such fertilisers.

The Senator used a word that is often used when talking about organic fertiliser, which is "waste". That is used in respect of the poultry sector. That has been the terminology used over the years and we must change that around so people view waste as a valuable resource. We must ensure that such waste is sought after and demanded by farmers because it is a powerful organic fertiliser, which we very much value. I want lots of progress in this area over the course of this year and next. That is a key way in which we can, hopefully, try to mitigate the very real pressure generated by chemical fertiliser prices.

Finally, I again thank the Senator for raising this matter.