Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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34. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when low interest rate credit will be available to farmers who have incurred significant additional feed costs for their animals as a result of the long winter; if he has obtained a commitment from the commercial banks that they will respond positively to the cash flow problems being experienced on farms arising from the long winter and fodder crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18311/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am conscious that this prolonged winter will have put some individual farmers under pressure in terms of cash flow. In recognition of this, I have met with the CEOs of the main banks and discussed the current cash flow and liquidity position of the primary sector. I emphasised to them that they should recognise the temporary and exceptional nature of the current situation and that they should be flexible and put in place measures to support their customers. They indicated to me that there are no signs that there is a liquidity issue across the sector as a whole, while acknowledging that there may be pressures in individual cases. They assured me that they will provide supports, such as extended overdraft facilities, to their customers, and asked that those in difficulty should contact them as soon as possible.

One of my priorities is to improve access to finance for the agri-food sector. Food Wise 2025 identifies competiveness as a key theme and includes a recommendation that stakeholders work to “improve access to finance for agriculture, forestry and seafood producers and agri-food companies”.

Last year I introduced the Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme, developed in cooperation with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI). It provided low-cost flexible working capital finance to farmers to address the impact of the change in the sterling exchange rate and lower commodity prices in some agriculture sectors in 2016 and 2017. It was facilitated by CAP Exceptional Adjustment Aid funding, which facilitated a subsidy to the interest rate and also covered the Scheme in terms of EU State Aid requirements. I was pleased at the very positive reaction by farmers to the Scheme, which was fully subscribed.

I announced in Budget 2018 that my Department is considering the development of potential Brexit response loan schemes for the primary sector. Consideration and discussions are ongoing in this regard and I will announce further details on this as they become available.