When speaking on this Vote last night, I was pointing out that we in the West of Ireland have a particular problem compared with other parts of the country, in view of the fact that our land is, in the main, much poorer than the land in other parts of the country. Quite a lot of the land in the West of Ireland is unsuitable for tillage and we have to rely to a great extent on imported feeding stuffs. Naturally, imported feeding stuffs being very expensive, this places our farmers at a serious disadvantage and that brings me to the point that I would always like to see in this country a vigorous tillage campaign.
It is true that at present cattle prices are very high, are abnormally high, but we are not sure that that state of affairs will last indefinitely. Deputy Giles last night expressed the opinion that a position might arise in this country at a later date in which cattle prices would fall and in which it would be unwise to have all our eggs, so to speak, in one basket. It is natural, due to the fact that cattle prices are very high at present, that our farmers should be inclined to increase production of cattle. That in itself can be a very good thing for the nation and a very desirable thing, but at the same time it could be brought too far. I would like our farmers to be encouraged, side by side with cattle production, to increase their tillage as far as possible.
In the matter of tillage, during the emergency phosphates and other fertilisers were very scarce. We have not yet got round to making up the deficiency in phosphates and other fertilisers in our land. It is true that we have made a big advance in liming, due to the undeniable fact that the present Minister, when he became Minister some years ago, initiated ground limestone schemes. As a result of his efforts we now have lime in sufficient quantities to make up any deficiency. Prior to that, we had no suitable means of providing lime in sufficient quantity. There was no other source of supply than the limekilns here and there throughout the length and breadth of the country and they were wholly inadequate and unsuitable for present conditions. There was no other source of lime in the country and the Minister did a very good day's work in getting ground limestone plants into operation and making it possible for farmers to buy lime at a cheap price in order to restore the fertility of the soil.
You can talk as much as you like about tillage, but any sensible-minded person must appreciate that over a long number of years the soil was becoming more and more deficient in lime and had we continued along the road which the previous Government was bringing us along, we would have reached the stage where it would have been almost impossible to grow crops or rear live stock. The other Government did not seem to appreciate that and it was just in the nick of time that the present Minister took it upon himself to make the limestone available at a subsidised price. It has a great bearing on production generally, both in tillage crops and in cattle.
If it were possible for the Minister to reduce the price of fertilisers to our farmers, it would bring most beneficial results. If it is possible to subsidise ground limestone, it is also possible to subsidise fertilisers, which are just as essential in their own way. I would ask him to consider that whole question seriously. The price of fertilisers is very high at present and they are beyond the reach of the ordinary small man. That has a serious effect on the cost of production and on the cost of living for many of our workers and many of our townspeople. I sincerely hope that the Minister will see his way to subsidise fertilisers if it is at all possible.
Lots of people seem to have the notion that farmers are the wealthiest class in this country, that they are terribly well off and have really no problems or headaches. You often find, as Deputy MacCarthy said last night, people who live in towns who have that mentality. Therefore, let us examine the position for a moment or two. In the main, the farmer gets up at seven or eight o'clock and must look after his stock, perhaps before he gets his breakfast. He has to work all the hours that God sends him, and may not finish until 11 or 12 o'clock at night—working a 16 or 17 hour day. In addition, he has to be out in all weathers. At all times he has to run the risk of losing his crop through bad weather conditions, such as we experienced last year. In that way he may lose practically his whole income. These things are not taken into consideration seriously by quite a lot of our people.
Some people think that because a farmer gets a grant for a haybarn or a cow byre that is very bad business for the Government and very bad policy generally. I do not agree with that. We all know that for hundreds of years this country was ruled by an outside power that had no interest whatever in building up this country. On the contrary, they were concerned only with plundering everything they could. That went on for a long number of years. Is it not only right and natural that an Irish Government should set about improving our main industry and improving the lot of those engaged in it, considering that it is the industry upon which everything and everybody depends? Therefore, it is a very good policy for this or any other Government to give substantial grants to farmers for the improvement of cow byres, haysheds and so forth.
Again, when you consider the laying on of water, though the initial cost may be rather high, it is well worth it. It means that the farmer can produce the goods in better condition, that the animals will be more comfortable and better fed and that they will thrive better. Accordingly, in the long run it is good policy. It would be advisable that people who have the mentality I speak of, should make up their minds that theirs is a foolish outlook on things, that there are no grounds for the suggestion that the farmer is so well off and so prosperous.
I referred last night to the small uneconomic holder. Let it be remembered that despite the increased agricultural prices he has gained precious little, as his cost of living has gone up and he has no guarantee that he will ever harvest the crop he puts in, due to weather and other conditions. Contrast that with the position of civil servants and others. I do not look down in any way on civil servants or anyone else—they are an important cog in the machine—but it is true that when they reach the age of 65 they can go into retirement. If they go out on a Sunday to the seaside, to Dún Laoghaire or somewhere else for amusement, once they lock their doors they know everything is safe at home. The farmer can rarely get a day off and if he does he has to be out early in the morning, he has to leave someone in charge of his stock during the day and often he has to return early. In many ways, the farmer has not the grand time that lots of people are inclined to think he has.
I would like to turn now to the high cost of farm machinery. We know the important part that good and efficient machinery can play in bringing about increased production. In the main, farm implements are most expensive, and beyond the reach of the ordinary people. There are few farmers who can afford to pay cash for their machinery, and accordingly they are placed at a further serious handicap. This is the type of farmer about whom I am mainly concerned; he is the small type of farmer who has to buy his machinery through a hire-purchase system, or apply for a loan to the Agricultural Credit Corporation, which he has very little chance of getting. That being so, he is placed at a very serious disadvantage from the word "go".
I think this question of machinery for increased production on the land should be gone into by the Minister with a view to bringing about effective reductions, if it is humanly possible. It was generally felt that the cost of agricultural machinery generally was exorbitant. In my opinion it is far too high. Taking into consideration the cost of many machines, it leaves the farmer in the position of buying on the dearest market and selling on the cheapest, and he is always transacting his business through middlemen. That will bring us to the co-operative system which I think should be encouraged. Anything we can do to bring down the cost of production, and to make it possible for our farmers to increase production, and accordingly increase their incomes and the wealth of the nation, should be done.
I mentioned a while ago that it was almost impossible to get loans from the Agricultural Credit Corporation. That is my experience, and the experience of other Deputies. I know of several credit-worthy farmers who looked for loans of £100 or £200, and were unable to procure them. The majority of our people have made up their minds that there is not a hope in the world of getting a loan from the Agricultural Credit Corporation. People engaged in other businesses, professional people and others, seem to have no serious difficulty in getting loans of this kind, but when it comes to those in the main industry of this country, the farmers who are the producers of food and wealth, looking for a loan, they are turned down, and nothing is to be done for them.
I feel the Minister deserves to be complimented and congratulated on his efforts for the farming community generally. In his opening remarks he asked members of this House on both sides to offer constructive criticism. In so far as I could, I have offered a few suggestions, and I have offered criticism. I feel, in the main, that the Minister should be complimented for his magnificent handling of a difficult situation. One of the greatest difficulties with which he was confronted was the fact that the weather last year was so bad, and it occupied a considerable amount of his time and energy running around the country trying to deal with what might be described as an emergency. His handling of that situation, I think, was excellent, and it seemed to satisfy even the severest critics.
I will conclude, therefore, by saying that I have the greatest confidence in the present Minister for Agriculture, that he will, within the shortest possible time, try to improve the conditions of the Irish farmer on whom so much depends. I am confident that it is his honest desire and wish to do so. If he succeeds, as I sincerely hope he will, then we can all look forward to better and brighter days.