Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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510. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will request all co-ops to have more forbearance with farmers - dairy, suckler, beef and tillage - in their current plight caused by poor prices, bad weather and other circumstances outside their control; if he will request the co-ops to allow for more flexibility in their billing system in line with farmers income times; and his views in this regard. [28283/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am acutely aware of the cashflow pressures on farmers at the current time and have discussed these issues in some detail with all levels in the sector from farmers to co-ops and banks at both the Beef Forum and the Dairy Forum. I will be having the same discussion at the upcoming Tillage Forum which I am hosting. I am also in regular contact with the banks, co-ops and others about the development of lending products for farmers that are better adapted to the volatile global markets in which we operate.

However the approach of individual co-ops as to how they engage with their suppliers is a matter for the Board of that co-op and I can have no role in their decision-making process. I would, however, expect farmer members of co-op boards to be sensitive to the needs of suppliers at present, with due regard to the exigencies of the co-op business.

The banks and coops have previously assured me that they are sensitive to the temporary pressures on farmers and will be flexible in their dealings with them. Banks have stressed the need for early engagement from those who see early financial pressure.

In response to the need for greater access to credit, my Department has also just procured an ex-ante assessment to assess any current failures in the access to finance market in Ireland. This is a first step towards the potential introduction of ‘Financial Instruments’ under the ‘EAFRD Rural Development Programme’ and the ‘EMFF Seafood Development Operational Programme’.

I am currently engaged with all the financial institutions, particularly the SBCI, to identify potential solutions to providing working capital finance for farmers with liquidity issues and expect to be making more announcements on this in the near future.