Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for being here today. I thank the Fine Gael Senators for tabling this Private Members' motion and giving us the opportunity to discuss the matters in hand with the Minister before the important meeting he is just about to attend. Coming in after Senators Murphy, Brady and Boyhan, there is not a lot left to say. I will briefly go through the motion. I have a small comment to make on each individual area, in no particular order.

Succession and generational renewal are big issues. I welcome the commission. I want to make sure that when the decisions are made on this issue that as much emphasis is put on the young farmer coming in as there is on the farmer who is retiring. We can often look at generational renewal and think if we introduce a retirement scheme, that will solve the problem. We may put in place a pension or retirement payment for the existing farmer but the young farmer will not take it over if there is not a future in it or if money is not invested in that young farmer for capital development or whatever. It was a big ask of the IFA when we met it last week. A young man with the delegates is trying to get into farming and he needs support at that bottom level getting in as much as the farmer who is getting out. It is equally important.

In regard to tillage, as was said earlier, the agriculture committee, which I am on, had a meeting today on the tillage sector. This ties in a little bit with Mercusor. I agree with everything that Senator Brady said about Mercusor. However, the tillage representatives informed us today there are between 750,000 and a million tonnes of genetically modified grain or feed coming in from the Mercusor countries at present. They are not on a level playing field. We need money in next Tuesday's budget to be put into the tillage sector because the sector is in crisis. It was obvious at the National Ploughing Championships. I said it on the Order of Business the other morning. I am a veteran of the ploughing championships and you can tell how farming is going by meeting the people on those three days. The mood was good with the exception of the tillage sector. A rising tide did not lift all boats. Their ask was that we would have a targeted policy from the Government for the use of Irish grain. For example, Irish whiskey does not use or does not have to use Irish grain. That is wrong. They could be selling 300,000 tonnes of malt and barley to the Irish whiskey industry, which is famous all over the world. Much of the grain used to make Irish whiskey is imported. We need to look at that. In fairness, the Minister in his remarks did say they were looking at that file.

The processors, distillers and millers who use the grain have a role to play. A big issue we have going forward is holding on to the derogation. In fairness, the processors on the milk side have rowed in to help to improve water quality because they have a vested interest. The millers, bakers, distillers and brewers have an equally important role to play in rescuing, helping and saving the tillage sector and the grain sector in particular. However, they need money and I believe money will be forthcoming, but it has to be new money. We cannot rob Peter to pay Paul on this one. In my neck of the woods the tillage sector is a mixed kind of a setup. Many people do both beef and tillage and maybe sheep - a little bit of everything. If we say we are not doing the cow payment this year because we are putting the money into tillage, that is taking the money out of the farmer's left hand to put into his right hand and that will not work. It has to be new money.

With regard to the TB valuation figure, as everybody has said, it has to rise. For example, one man losing ten cows because of the disease is not on. That would put a man out of business, especially with the value of cattle now. That has to be revisited. I am an advocate for, and I know the answer is, a vaccination for TB. We can vaccinate the badger and the bovine. Tweaks need to be made with the current vaccination and it would affect our exports but we need to invest in it. Some of the massive amount of money spent on TB will need to be invested in research for a vaccination going forward. If I live long enough, I will be proven right that this will not be solved until there is a vaccination for bovine TB. The vaccination is not up to scratch at the moment but it can be and will be. We were able to create a vaccination for Covid-19 in six months. With a bit of investment and research and the backing of universities and maybe even private labs, it will happen. Money put in that direction might be money well spent.

Beef is going well at the minute, but I read this morning, and this is important, that weanling exporters are talking about boycotting the marts for a week because they are not happy that all the animals they are buying are vaccinated. Some had respiratory problems in animals they bought. No seven people should be able to hold a sector to ransom like that. If the Minister needs to step in, I think he should step in. That is detrimental. Beef is going well but are they going to kill it themselves? In the case of such a threat the Minister may have to step in and talk to the exporters. They are holding the whole sector to ransom. It is a cheap shot just because there was a little bit of a breakout in one of their own herds that was bought and nobody knows how they were housed or anything. The Minister may keep an eye on that one. They are talking about boycotting the marts and not buying any weanlings in the mart from 6 October for seven days.

The derogation affects the whole sector. When talking about agriculture it is hard not to put one sector against another. We go back to the tillage. If we do not hold the derogation, the dairy men are going to leave the land and there is another hit for the tillage sector. It is a domino effect. It is vitally important we hold the derogation.

The initial announcement on CAP was not good but the Minister, Deputy Heydon, said it is only a starting point and we need to get a far better deal before we dot the i's and cross the t's.