Seanad debates
Monday, 22 January 2024
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Agriculture Supports
12:00 pm
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, to the House.
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for accepting my Commencement matter. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is great to have a Minister of State from the Department of agriculture. I do not always get one when I am speaking about agricultural issues. Today I want to highlight the plight of north Louth farmers who have been severely impacted by the recent floods and the importance of providing financial assistance to these farmers. This cannot be overstated. It is crucial for their individual recovery and for the overall agricultural sector, the regional economy, the local economy and the importance that farming families play in the north Louth economy.
Recent floods have left a trail of destruction. If the Minister of State looks on TV or any of my social media posts she will see the devastation it has caused. Crops and fodder have been absolutely destroyed. Valuable infrastructure such as fields and fences have been damaged and completely changed. This catastrophe has left many farmers not knowing how to rebuild their lives or their businesses.
Why should we care about the recovery of north Louth farmers? As the Minister of State and the Department know, the answer is very simple. It is the responsibility of the Department to support our farming families. Agriculture forms the backbone of our economy, no more than in north Louth. Farms provide us with the food we eat. They contribute significantly to the local and national economy. By supporting north Louth farmers we are not only supporting them in securing the future of our food supply but we are safeguarding their livelihoods and their families.
Financial assistance is essential to farmers to repair and replace damaged equipment and infrastructure. It is also essential to support farmers as we move into the new season which, as the Minister of State knows, brings new challenges and responsibilities. Lambing is starting in north Louth. People are getting their fields ready for silage, tillage or whatever they will be doing from spring onwards. An awful lot of the land is damaged. An awful lot of the infrastructure is damaged. Rivers have been rerouted and there is no ability to spend the moneys needed to fix them. There is damage to our fish stocks.
Not one departmental official has got back to me. I feel very disappointed and let down by the Department. I want the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to intervene in this and to support farmers, who are environmentally conscious. They are looking at fish leaving the rivers and going into fields and dying. This is only one issue.The Department has made significant moves in getting people onto environmental schemes, with money expended. Fences that were partly paid for by grants from the Department have been broken down. What happens when land is disregarded and not farmed? I have received no answers from the Department about whether farmers will be able to get an allowance this year in the form of grants, GLAS or other financial assistance if they cannot afford to fix their fences. This is a cashflow problem. Businesses and homes were taken care of. If farm sheds had been burned down, FBD or whatever insurer a farmer used would have been able to cover it.
This is a natural disaster. I do not use that term lightly. It is devastating. There are fields with holes 10 ft deep, so it is not just a case of bringing out the front loader and filling in a few gaps. This is a case of using a Hymac and hiring people at approximately €500 per day for several days to restore land. What happens when the Department performs a flyover and sees that the land is not in use? The farmer will be penalised. Not once have I received an answer from the Department about this. I beg the Minister of State and the Minister to intervene and support the farmers in north Louth.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank Senator McGreehan for raising the issue of farms flooding in north Louth. I understand that the Minister has discussed it with her a number of times. We recognise that there has been some damage to agricultural property due to flooding last year and in previous years. In such circumstances, farmers should first liaise with their insurers. However, the Minister acknowledges the representations from Senator McGreehan regarding her request for consideration of a Government scheme and he continues to liaise with her on the matter. There are flood schemes that can be rolled out by the Departments of Social Protection and Enterprise, Trade and Employment where areas meet the threshold of severe flood damage, but there is no such scheme in place for agriculture. This is something that the Minister is reflecting on, given the challenges around adverse weather, future climate change and the potential need to have a scheme designed that can be utilised in such circumstances. However, such consideration does not impact on the primary responsibility of farmers and business people to take steps to ensure that their properties are insured for these potential scenarios. The Minister commits to continuing to liaise with the Senator on this issue.
Undoubtedly, 2023 was a difficult year for farmers across the country. We saw the wettest March and July on record. Sandwiched between those two months, many farmers experienced drought. Many areas saw floods during August, October, November and December. The Government is fully aware of the effects of these floods and of the subsequent devastation and stress caused to the farming community as well as to the broader community in impacted areas.
Climate change predictions show that we can expect more frequent and intense severe weather events. As a society, we need to plan for the future. In this regard, the Government is assessing the appropriate actions to take to mitigate future flooding events in various areas through climate adaptation. Climate adaptation is the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects. It is not a one-time emergency response, but a series of proactive measures that are taken over time to build resilience to the impacts of climate change, ultimately minimising the cost of climate change and maximising any opportunities that may arise.
As part of this climate adaptation process, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, last week launched a public consultation on the national adaptation framework. That consultation will remain open until 19 February to gather feedback from relevant stakeholders – this will include farmers – and the public on the draft framework. A revised draft will then be prepared and submitted to the Government for approval later this year. My Department will have to update the sectoral adaptation plans for agriculture, seafood and forestry. Importantly, the Office of Public Works will have to update the flood risk management sectoral adaptation plan. I encourage fellow Senators, the general public and, in particular, those who have been impacted by recent severe weather events to contribute to the current public consultation.
It has not been possible to compensate all of those impacted by last year’s weather. However, my Department has a number of schemes available that are assisting farmers to adapt to climate change. For example, under ACRES, which is our new national flagship agri-environmental scheme, there are a number of measures to slow the flow of water. These include tree planting on riparian margins, catch crops and overwinter stubble actions as well as the maintenance of riparian zones.Under the scheme, hedgerow and tree planting in strategic locations can also act to slow overland flow. In addition, our woodlands and forests can act as natural means of flood attenuation and several forest measures and schemes now incorporate a focus on water-related issues, including woodlands for water and the agro-forestry scheme. Furthermore, my Department secured €9.53 million from the EU agriculture reserve, which is being distributed between the tillage sector - € 7.1 million - and the horticulture sector - €2.3 million.
The EU agriculture reserve allocation for tillage is being topped up by a further €7 million. The best support we can provide for those impacted by flooding is to work together to mitigate the risk by future-proofing possible flood events.
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I mean no harm, but that is absolute baloney. I do not need the preaching of a fairy tale from Department of agriculture. These farmers are very well equipped and very well aware of the responsibilities to environmental mitigation. Yet, it is absolutely the Department's responsibility to mitigate against farmers going out of business. It is absolutely the Department’s responsibility to look after the farming communities and it is their remit. The strategic aims, which are on the Department's website, are to support farming families. What is that about? The Minister of State is telling me that the farmers can look at mitigating measures, and that is an absolute cart of bull. I am not taking it.
There is precedent for schemes, such as in Inishowen. That was good enough for Charlie back in 2017. Inishowen received funding for pretty much the exact same thing that has happened. Their fences were destroyed. Their fodder was destroyed, as was their fertiliser, and their fields were absolutely ruined. Do not tell me that there is no precedent for it. Some of that €9.3 million could go to it. The €300,000 in that figure would go a long way towards fixing a few farmers in north Louth. I think the Department of agriculture is in fairy tale land.
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I call the Minister of State.
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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It is in absolute fairy tale land.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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For one, Senator-----
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I am furious.
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Let the Minister of State respond.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. For one, it is unfair to say that my Department does not support farmers. That is what it does-----
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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Not in north Louth.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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It does that largely through taxpayers’ money, so we have to make calls on what is appropriate to spend money on and what is not. I do not think it is sustainable - and I do not even think the Senator believes it is sustainable - for the Department or any other Department to pay out one-off measures in response to some-----
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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Shannon Callows.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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-----sorry-----
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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It is not sustainable. I am sorry, I cannot get a word in here.
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Allow the Minister of State to continue without interruption.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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It is not sustainable for any Department to continue to pay out funding on one-off measures. That is why the focus has to be on the future, on mitigation and on climate adaptation. That is why I urge the Senator, her colleagues and the farmers she represents to engage with that consultation and highlight what will stop them. We cannot keep going back out when something happens saying we need compensation. Compensation is not a sustainable model. We have to look at climate adaptation. The Department funds-----
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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You should have told that to businesses.
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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You did not say that to the businesses-----
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is replying, Senator McGreehan.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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Businesses are the same, whether it is a farming business or another business. It is not sustainable to keep compensation measures going.
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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They are not the same.