Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While the sun might be shining in Dublin there is teeming rain in the west of Ireland, including Clare. The weather conditions since last July have made farming almost an impossibility. The pressure, both mental and physical, on the farming community is palpable. Regardless of size and scale of operation every farmer in the country is under enormous pressure. There are issues around fodder and the inability to plant grain. There is concern now about not being able to feed cattle through the summer period because it has not been possible to let them out onto grass and there is a shortage of fodder. That is not to speak about the impact this will have on the next harvest. There is an immediate crisis. The Leader has been making great efforts to try to get the Minister for agriculture to come to the House and I hope she will be able to update us on that because it is of paramount importance. We need to see a really important approach being taken by the Government, and not just to solve the issues of today, because this is going to have long-term repercussions, especially for grain farmers, but also for those in dairy and livestock. They are under enormous pressure right now and it will require financial investment by the State to protect our farming enterprises, our family farms, our food production and the security of that production. We all know the importance of that, so it is really important we have a progressive debate on the issues facing farming because of the very significant climatic conditions we have experienced over the last 12 months.