Seanad debates
Thursday, 2 April 2015
Commencement Matters
Farms Data
10:30 am
Paul Bradford (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, to the House once again. I am aware that one area of her responsibilities is rural development and planning for the future of rural Ireland. In that regard, my motion is pertinent. It concerns the Government's future plans to maximise the number of farming families in this country over the long term at a time when all in the agriculture industry are very excited about the end of the milk quota regime. This is a very positive development and it should be portrayed as such. We have projected figures for future dairy production, future dairy herd numbers and future employment, both on-farm and off-farm. They are very positive. We are all very much aware of the difficulties which will arise in respect of the fluctuation in milk prices but, it is hoped that everyone working in the industry, working with the financial institutions, the dairy co-operatives and the dairy processors, will be able to plan for the rainy days as well as the sunshine in that regard.
My question goes a little beyond that however. One of the disappointing projections in respect of the positive milk quota news is that over the next number of years it is expected that the number of people in dairy farming will fall. The scale of it will be much bigger but we may well in ten or 15 years time have fewer dairy farmers in this country. In respect of not just dairy farmers but farmers right across the spectrum, and in particular farming families, is it not time that we as a nation and the Minister of State and her Government colleagues would try to put a figure on the number of people they want on the land of Ireland in five, ten, 15 and 20 years time?I accept that is a difficult thing to do but it is something we should plan for. It is not something which we have previously planned.
Clearly we plan for the future of agriculture, we plan for the future of production and we plan for expansion. Rural development since Ireland joined what was then known as the EEC in 1973 has been very positive from the production and agri-industry points of view. However, the number of people on the land and farms of this country have dropped quite dramatically. Much of that is understandable but some arises from choices taken by various Ministers and Departments down the years.
The Minister of State, and her colleagues across the agricultural portfolio, must make a decision over the course of the next year. Who knows, it may be her party and others again who will be in Government. In the next five or six years we must decide to set a minimum target for the number of people who will farm the lands of Ireland, and farming our townlands, parishes and counties. Every farming family adds to the economic infrastructure of the country and adds very significantly to the social infrastructure of rural Ireland. One could, in theory, greatly expand Irish agriculture while simultaneously see the number of farmers and farming families drop by 50%, which would not be a desirable outcome.
It has been great to see an increase in the number of students attending agricultural colleges over the past number of years. It shows young people want to be farmers again. We must state to them that we are trying to maximise options, from a policy perspective, in order that they can remain in farming. The dairy industry, no matter how progressively it expands and we all wish it well, cannot employ every single interested farmer on this island. Therefore, we must look at other agricultural sectors. We must look again at pig and sheep production which have big problems and there are also problems in the beef sector. While I use the term "micro sector" I am not being dismissive. We must look at the micro and organic sectors and do more work on a REPs-type expansion, etc.
I do not have a solution for the Minister of State and I do not think anybody does. However, I seek to learn her thinking, and that of her colleagues in Government, on this issue. It would be helpful if we could ensure there is a strong long-term future for the maximum number of farming families which would be good for farming. It would also be good for rural Ireland and the community life which is the social fabric of this country and the economy. I seek her initial observations. I appreciate that this is a medium to long-term issue but it is one we need to work towards.
Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and understand his proposal. To be fair to the Minister, I do not think he would necessarily disagree with him in any way. Forward planning is always desirable, whether it is in agriculture or any other sector of the economy. Anticipating what is going to happen over the coming years is desirable.
Yesterday marked one of the biggest changes in the history of Irish agriculture. With the Senator's permission, perhaps I might skip to the policy part of my answer. It is quite detailed and I am conscious that I shall use up my time with same.
The CSO census of agriculture data shows that the number of farm families has remained reasonably stable between 2000 and 2010 which was when the last census took place, accounting for around 141,500 family farms in 2000, to almost 140,000 in 2010. I shall skip party of my reply because the Senator is interested in hearing about policy.
During the period 2009 to 2013, the Department operated an annual scheme for new entrants to dairying whereby successful applicants were allocated a milk quota of up to 200,000 litres at no charge. The scheme was aimed at introducing the best and brightest into the sector and allocated some 70 million litres of quota to over 400 new entrants. Last year, the Department built on the scheme by operating an Exchequer-funded knowledge transfer programme referred to as cash plan 2014. Over 600 recent entrants participated in this programme which was designed to emphasise the importance of farm planning, cashflow and the true cost of producing a litre of milk, and how to manage the factors that influence this cost.
The next item is agri-taxation measures. One of the policy objectives behind many of the recently introduced agri-taxation measures, in budgets 2012 to 2015, was to encourage farming as a career for young people. Measures were introduced to increase land mobility, assist succession and the transfer of farms to younger farmers. They included new stock relief incentive for farm partnerships; reduced stamp duty on agricultural land transactions; 100% stock relief on income tax for certain young trained farmers; a stamp duty exemption on transfers of land to young trained farmers; and establishing a new register of farm partnerships to address land mobility and smooth intergenerational succession.
The new €4 billion Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 will be a key support in enhancing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector. One of the issues which strongly emerged from the consultation process was the need to support young farmers and intergenerational renewal in the sector. Accordingly, there are a number of measures within the RDP that directly address this issue. For example, the substantial new agri-environment scheme, which is commonly known as GLAS, gives continued strong support for farmers in areas of natural constraint, support for knowledge transfer, and targeted support for the beef sector via the highly innovative beef data and genomics programme. Also, €395 million has been allocated to provide support for a wide range of capital investments on Irish farms across various sectors. A general rate of 40% aid is available to farmers under TAMS II, with an increased rate of 60% aid available for farmers under 40 years of age.
A further RDP measure that incorporates a targeting of the age profile of Irish farmers is the support for set-up costs of farm partnerships. Supporting farm partnerships in this way will provide a further channel of entry for young farmers. Under Pillar 1, young farmers will benefit from the both the young farmer scheme and the national reserve. Relevant young farmers will also be eligible to apply under the second phase of the national reserve to be given new entitlements or be given a top-up on the value of existing entitlements. Applications will be made available in early April 2015.
This Government has had a continuous focus on the strategic development of the agriculture and food sector. This strategic focus has borne fruit as, through the implementation of Food Harvest 2020, the value of primary production has almost met its 33% target, agri-food exports have grown by 27% and gross value added or GVA has risen by 29%. These figures have been taken from the 2012 data which is the latest available. Notwithstanding the substantive progress achieved on the smart green growth vision of Food Harvest 2020, the continually changing and challenging global environment means that the sector must be kept under continuous review if we are to sustainably expand production and gain maximum value from the new and existing opportunities. To this end, a new 2025 Agri-Food Strategy Committee has been appointed which will report back to Government by the end of June with its key strategic recommendations and actions for the sector up to 2025.
Finally, a good indication for the successful operation of future family farms lies in the tremendous increase in the numbers attending agricultural colleges. The numbers involved have almost doubled since 2008. Teagasc, typically, enrols around 3,500 new learners annually in its education programmes with about 5,000 participating in its shorter continuous professional development courses. Teagasc expects that the demand for full-time courses will be sustained at current levels for the sustainable future. This is concrete proof that the Government's focus on supporting farm families, through its strategic vision and a range of measures, schemes and development programmes, is the best way of sustaining the numbers of traditional family farms.