I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £7,652,960 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1960, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Agriculture, including certain Services administered by that Office, and for payment of certain subsidies and sundry Grants-in-Aid.
In accordance with the usual practice in relation to this Estimate, I have circulated to Deputies a memorandum which gives a great deal of factual information on the current activities of my Department. In addition, every Deputy has been furnished with a recent publication of my Department, entitled "Specially for the Farmer", in which all of the many schemes which can be availed of by farmers are explained.
The Printed Estimates show the net estimate for 1959/60, at £11,344,960, as an increase of £1,831,650 over the 1958/59 figure. After the Estimates were printed, however, a supplementary net provision of £2,220,000 for 1958/59 was granted by the Dáil and this had the effect of increasing the net estimate for 1958/59 from £9,513,310 to £11,733,310, or £388,350 more than the net estimate for 1959/60.
Last year, farmers were extremely unfortunate in that what looked like the beginning of a prosperous season ended with a disastrous harvest. There is no doubt at all that farmers' incomes suffered badly as a result. A very preliminary estimate published prior to the Budget placed the drop in output at £8 million. More recent information suggests a drop of about £13 million. Cattle, dairy and cereal production were all adversely affected. This was a very serious loss not only for the farmers themselves but for the whole community. Nevertheless, the industry is in a fundamentally sound position, and I am confident that this year, given favourable weather, the steady progress which has resulted in a 50 per cent. increase in farm income over the past ten years will be resumed.
The trend of agricultural exports has been reasonably satisfactory. Exports of agricultural commodities have increased from £74 million in 1955 to £86 million in 1958. As usual, the bulk of our exports are going to the British market. As Deputies are aware, the international marketing situation for agricultural products, especially dairy products, eggs, and pigmeat, has not been good and the future is giving rise to a good deal of concern.
It must be remembered that Continental countries produce by and large the same products as we do ourselves. In most cases, the whole range of their agricultural prices is supported at a comparatively high level and, consequently, their output, which is almost entirely for home consumption and independent of the vagaries of export markets, is very high. Their import requirements are, therefore, marginal and their internal price structure is protected by quotas and other import barriers. Nevertheless, these markets are quite important. They have, for example, provided useful openings for certain types of cattle and sheep. Deputies will also realise that when markets tend to be weak even a small extra opening frequently has a very marked effect in improving the tone of prices here. We have, therefore, been following keenly the developments in the Common Market in relation to agriculture. Taking account of the inherent conditions in agriculture in the Common Market countries and the policies indicated in the Rome Treaty, it is to be feared that there is little prospect of any substantial increase in our exports to the continent.
I should like to mention some important new developments during the past year or so. First of all, as the House is aware, An Foras Talúntais came into existence last autumn and commenced its work in relation to agricultural research. The Estimate includes a provision of £50,000 for the purposes of the Institute. Apart from this, the Institute has available to it a sum of £1,840,000 from Marshall Aid Counterpart Funds, £840,000 of which is to be used for capital purposes and £1 million of which is a permanent endowment. The interest on these funds is available to the Institute as income and can be used for current expenditure. In addition, the Institute will receive from State funds sums equivalent to the estimated cost of operating any existing services which are transferred from my Department to the Institute.
A number of institutions of a research character previously administered by my Department have already been transferred to the Institute. These comprise Grange Farm, Glenamoy Peatland Experiment Station, and land and facilities made available to the Department by Bord na Móna at Derrybrennan and Clonsast for peatland experimental work. It is also proposed to transfer Johnstown Castle Agricultural College to the Institute, but an amendment to the Johnstown Castle Agricultural College Act, 1945, is required to enable this to be done. I am happy to be able to say that the donors have kindly given their approval to the transfer and I accordingly propose to have the necessary Bill introduced very shortly.
As has recently been announced, there have been important developments in regard to the future of veterinary education. As from January next, the teaching of veterinary medicine will be handed over to the universities, and all the professors and other teaching staff will be appointed by the universities instead of, as in the past, by the Minister for Agriculture. The existing teaching staff at the Veterinary College will be transferred to University College, Dublin, or to Trinity College, Dublin. The Faculties of Veterinary Medicine in University College, Dublin, and Trinity College, Dublin will use the Veterinary College for the training of their respective student bodies, and the Veterinary College will be administered by my Department in so far as such matters as buildings, equipment, appointment of non-teaching staff, etc., are concerned. These arrangements have been made in agreement with the two universities. The degrees of the two universities have been recognised, with effect from the 1st June, 1959, as registrable qualifications in Britain, and students here will, therefore, no longer take an M.R.C.V.S. Diploma Examination, but a university degree in veterinary medicine. These developments are very satisfactory.
I should also like to mention at this stage that I have received reports on the following subjects from the Advisory Committee on the Marketing of Agricultural Products: bacon and other pigmeat, shell eggs and liquid egg, turkeys and dairy produce. The Report on pigs and bacon has already been published, and the others will follow shortly. I should like to thank the Chairman, Dr. Greene, and the members of the Committee for all the time and energy they have expended in the preparation of these reports. The Committee will, I expect, have completed the remainder of their heavy task during the present calendar year.
Coming now to more general matters, the Government's agricultural policy is set out in the White Paper on Economic Expansion which was published last autumn. That policy is being carried out and the measures foreshadowed in it are being put into effect. The White Paper drew special attention to our low usage of fertilisers, especially on grassland. It laid particular emphasis on the unsatisfactory status of our soils. Grassland makes up 85 per cent. of our total agricultural area, and it is a matter of serious concern to our whole economy that such a large proportion of our total area goes without proper treatment. Experimental work has made it clear that through attention to these lands our output of livestock and livestock products could be greatly increased. The Government decided, therefore, as announced in the White Paper, to introduce a scheme for the subsidisation of phosphatic fertilisers, and this House passed a Supplementary Estimate to enable this scheme to be launched in the 1958/59 financial year. The Estimate now before the House contains provision for £1¾ million to enable the subsidy to be continued during the current financial year. There are already indications that the subsidy scheme and the increased activities of the advisory services have been effective in appreciably increasing the use of superphosphate and basic slag on grassland. I am looking forward to a very substantial increase in the years ahead. I feel that the money expended on subsidising phosphates should be regarded as an investment which will return big dividends to the nation.
Turning to livestock and livestock products, cattle production continues at a satisfactory level, the number of animals under one year old reaching a new record figure of 1,108,000 in 1958, which is an increase of over 45,000 on 1957 and over 100,000 as compared with 1956. The number of milch cows and in-calf heifers was also higher in 1958 than in any year since pre-war. Exports of fat and store cattle in 1958 and the early months of 1959 have been lower than the very heavy exports in 1957, although offset to some extent by higher prices, but it is obvious that the position of the industry is fundamentally sound. The greater interest being shown in grassland improvement, stimulated further by the phosphates subsidy, will, of course, increase carrying capacity. The total export trade in beef has been well maintained during the past year, a decline in exports to the Continent being offset by increased exports to the U.S.A. and Britain.
On the breeding side, the artificial insemination service is now catering for nearly 40 per cent. of the total breeding stock, and it is important that progeny testing of the bulls used should receive due attention. Arrangements are in operation with the A.I. stations for the running of milk recording units by each station in respect of their dairy bulls, and other progeny testing methods are also being arranged. One of the benefits of artificial insemination can be seen from the results of providing the service in parts of the West and North-West, where infertility had been a very serious problem and the use of communal bulls a risk. In these areas, such as Innishboffin and parts of County Mayo, the calving percentage has been successfully restored in a short time.
As regards the pigs and bacon industry, although the livestock census for January, 1959, showed a decrease in total pig numbers as compared with January, 1958, the information available to my Department indicates that that trend had ceased and that pig production is again expanding.
For some months past, the bacon market in Britain has not been very buoyant and exports of Grade A bacon from here have required fairly substantial price support. Movements on the British bacon market are extremely difficult to predict and I think it would be unwise for me to hazard any forecast as to the course of that market during the remainder of the year.
As I have already mentioned, the report on the export of bacon and other pigmeat by the Advisory Committee on the Marketing of Agricultural Produce has recently been published, and steps are being taken to consult the interests concerned on the views and recommendations in the report. In the meantime, I have not finally decided on the extent to which the recommendations in the Report can be implemented.
Progeny testing of pigs is going ahead satisfactorily at the Cork Progeny Testing Station, which commenced operations in January, 1958. Two tests with numbers of pigs to the full capacity of the station, that is, 192 pigs per test, have already been completed and a third test is in progress. A detailed report on the first test has been completed and it will, I hope, be published within the next week or so. A report on the second test is in course of preparation and will be published soon also.
Arrangements are in train for the erection of a second pig-progeny testing station on the Department's property at Thorndale which has been vacated by the veterinary research laboratory, now at Abbotstown. The accommodation to be provided at the second station will generally be on the same lines as the Cork station.
Our egg export trade remains at a comparatively low level. This is largely the result of the British price guarantee system. I have been studying the Report received from the Agricultural Marketing Advisory Committee on the export of shell eggs and liquid eggs. This Report will be published within the next week or so, and the views and recommendations therein will then be discussed with the different interests concerned, with a view to having such improvements as may be possible made in the marketing system. I am also studying a report from the Advisory Committee on the export of turkeys, which I hope will also be published shortly. The turkey export market last Christmas was not quite as satisfactory as the previous year, despite the effects on production of the bad weather in 1958, and it is clear that, if we are to hold a satisfactory place in the British turkey trade, our production and marketing methods must complete with the more intensive and highly organised practices now developing in Britain.
Another recent development in the poultry world, which has spread from America to Europe, is the trade in broilers, that is table chickens of selected meat types reared intensively to about ten weeks old. For the successful conduct of this trade, output must be organised on a large-scale basis with a low unit return. A couple of co-operative societies and others have already made a beginning in the business here and in view of its rapid expansion in Britain, the potentialities of developing exports to that market by co-operative societies and the Dairy Disposal Company, Limited, are being actively pursued. It would appeal to me if the ordinary poultry keeper could also be fitted into the scheme of things. I may mention that a useful trade is already being done in the export of day-old chicks to the Six Counties, Britain and Italy.
I should now like to deal with the dairying industry and the Government's policy on its problems. One aspect of this which has recently been the subject of comment is the butter levy which was introduced last year and is still in operation. The position in this regard has already been explained to the interests concerned in the course of discussions and correspondence and by way of a Press announcement and in reply to questions in this House. It seems that the facts should be clearly stated again.
At the beginning of 1958, it appeared that the subsidy required for the export of surplus butter in 1958/59 would be in excess of £3 million, and, as this was felt to be too heavy a burden for the tax-payer, it was decided that it was not unreasonable to require the dairy industry to meet part of the loss on marketing the surplus. It was decided that the industry's part would be one-third, the other two-thirds being met by the Exchequer. This means that for every £1 paid out of the proceeds of the levy the Exchequer contributes £2. Although the surplus of butter last year was less than in 1957, the levy of 17s. a cwt. was barely adequate to meet one-third of the losses on exports.
As regards the maintenance of the levy, it is impossible to estimate accurately at this stage either the quantity of butter likely to be available for export or the price which will be obtained. It has been claimed that there will be no export surplus this year. This is solely speculation based on the reduced milk intake at creameries during the past few months as compared with the same period last year. It must be remembered that, while the supply of milk to creameries up to August 1958 was greater than in the same period of 1957, the exceptionally bad weather conditions caused a sharp fall in the later months of the year, with the result that the milk intake for the whole of 1958 was less than in 1957. There is no reason to think that the reverse may not happen this year. Indeed we sincerely hope it will. Finally, as already pointed out many times, should it transpire that the full amount of the levy, which is paid into a special fund, will not be required to meet one-third of the export losses this year, any balance will be used only for the benefit of the dairying industry.
The weather conditions last summer and autumn had a very serious effect on the quantity and quality of the grain produced from the 1958 harvest.
In July last year, the indications were that the quantity of home-grown wheat likely to be available would be considerably in excess of the 300,000 tons which it was intended should be taken up by the flour millers. Accordingly, a levy of 5s. 9d. a barrel on all wheat marketed was fixed after consultation with the interests concerned. Conditions worsened considerably during August and September with the result that the quality of the wheat turned out to be much worse than could have been anticipated and approximately 90 per cent. of the crop was suitable only for animal feed. In these circumstances, special arrangements were made to ensure that the wheat would be taken off the growers' hands at the prices set out in the Wheat Order, and An Bord Gráin was given the responsibility of marketing approximately 230,000 tons of wheat for animal feed, the losses on which were underwritten by the State. I am glad to say that the bulk of this wheat has now been disposed of by the Board and it is expected that the remaining quantity available will be sold before this year's harvest becomes available.
As regards oats and barley, the position was not quite as bad as in the case of wheat, but, nevertheless, it was found necessary in the course of the year to permit imports of limited quantities of these grains to supplement home supplies.
As regards the present year, while detailed statistics are not yet available, there are indications that the area under wheat will be about 30 per cent. less than in 1958; that the area under barley for feeding purposes will be about 25 per cent. higher, and that there may also be some increase in the area under oats. The position in regard to the marketing of feeding barley of the 1959 crop is at present being examined and I hope to be able to make an announcement at an early date.
If my forecast of the wheat area is any way near the mark, it seems very unlikely that any levy will be necessary this year. In regard to future years, as I have already stated, I look with favour on the efforts being made to devise a workable alternative, such as growing by contract. I fully realise of course the many difficulties that have to be surmounted in working out any such system.
The provision for the Land Project remains at well over £2 million, although, as Deputies are aware, the scheme has been altered by the discontinuance of Section B. It will be noticed that grants to farmers are estimated at £1,350,000 or £100,000 more than in 1958-59. The reasons for the discontinuance of Section B have been fairly fully ventilated and I do not think it necessary to repeat them. I may say, however, that farmers have for some years been showing an increasing preference for Section A and it has always been my personal view that farmers who seek assistance from the State to reclaim their land should either do the work themselves or be responsible for any contracts placed for executing the work.
I am glad to announce that arrangements will shortly be made whereby farmers, if they so choose, may assign their Land Project grants to their contractors subject to certain conditions. This should be of considerable assistance to contractors generally.
Provision is also made in the Estimate for the continuance of the Fertiliser Scheme operated in conjunction with the Land Project. Under this scheme, farmers whose lands are subject to a Land Purchase Annuity may obtain a soil analysis report on payment of a soil testing fee of 1/- per acre and may obtain credit for the purchase of fertilisers—lime, phosphates and potash—repayable as an addition to their Land Purchase Annuities. Formerly, participants in this scheme were required to carry out the fertilisation of all the agricultural land on their holdings in one operation. This requirement was felt to be too exacting, and, in February last, the scheme was modified so as to allow a farmer to avail himself of it provided that he fertilised at least one-third of his holding and the amount to be repaid by way of annuity was not less than £100.
I now come to what is, undoubtedly, the most important and urgent task with which the country is confronted —that is, the eradication of bovine tuberculosis. I am glad to be able to report that a great deal of progress has been achieved in the past year and confidently look forward to an even greater intensification of effort on the part of everyone concerned in the future. Whereas, at the start of last year the intensive measures were confined to four or five counties outside the western Clearance Area, the position has now been reached where intensive eradication is in progress in every one of the Twenty-six Counties. There are, regrettably, areas in a few counties where there is still a lack of appreciation of the urgent need to push vigorously ahead with the work. The programme which was announced by my Department at the beginning of this year, following consultation and agreement with farming and other organisations concerned, calls for the maximum effort by everyone, and it would be nothing less than a national tragedy if, because of indifference or complacency on the part of any herd-owners, that programme was not completed as we envisaged.
We must not lose sight of the fact that Britain is now very close to full attestation and the position will almost certainly be reached by the end of this year when there will be no market for untested store cattle. Even already, the outlets for untested cattle are diminishing very rapidly. Farmers who have not yet taken any steps to clear their herds would do well to consider the significance of this.
So far, the weight of our effort has been directed to the clearance of the seven western counties with a view to having them accredited as early as possible. The programme to which I have referred aims at the conditions necessary for accreditation being attained in Sligo towards the end of this year, with other counties reaching the same status progressively from the start of 1960. I can say that, up to the present, we have kept abreast of our programme in the Western area, thanks in large measure to the splendid degree of co-operation which has been forthcoming from herd-owners and veterinary practitioners. This encourages me in the expectation that our target will be reached on time. I might here mention that, as the next step in bringing the West to full accreditation, it is my intention in the very near future to make an Order requiring that, from the early autumn, only tested cattle may be exposed at public sales there. Later, I intend to follow this up by requiring that only cattle which bear the special green tag denoting that they have passed at the second round of clearance tests, or have a 14-day test tag, can be similarly exposed.
Our programme also envisages the declaration of Cavan, Monaghan and Longford as Clearance Areas. I am happy to announce that progress in Cavan and Monaghan has been sufficiently good to warrant our taking this step almost immediately. I, therefore, intend to make them a Clearance Area as from mid-July. Longford shows promise and will, I hope, be ready for the clearance measures in a matter of months.
As regards the other counties, notable progress has been made in Kildare, Meath and Westmeath. This is a very welcome sign in view of the key role of these midland counties in our store cattle trade with Britain, and I am sure that the counties I have mentioned will continue the good work and reach the stage—perhaps towards the end of this year—when they, too, can become Clearance Areas.
I should like to refer briefly to the announcement some time ago by the British Government that they would continue to accept our once-tested store cattle for a period of five years from the date on which the whole of Britain becomes attested. I would like to place on record my appreciation of the helpful attitude of the British authorities in this matter. There has been a tendency in certain quarters to suggest that this concession is likely to induce complacency in our farmers and so retard the progress of eradication. I personally do not hold this view but if there should be any persons who are of that way of thinking, I must warn them that the concession in question is only a temporary arrangement and it is vital to press ahead energetically and urgently with the elimination of tuberculosis. It is particularly important that we expand rapidly the number of accredited cattle we can send to Britain. Already, the British buyer is showing an increasing reluctance to taking the once-tested cattle, which necessitates the bothersome job of isolation and retesting. It is clear that he wants accredited cattle and we must not rest in our effort until we can supply what is needed.
Deputies will be interested to hear that I have recently received some interim results of trials of the preparation known as Trolene in the control of warble fly. This was administered as a drench. Over 160 cattle were treated and a similar number was left untreated. Only 112 warbles were found in the treated cattle as compared with 1,721 in the untreated group. The trials will soon be completed and I think there are reasonable grounds for hope that we are in sight of a solution of this very troublesome business.
The outbreaks of swine fever which commenced in Dublin in August, 1956, have ended. The last outbreaks of the disease were confirmed on the 29th May, 1958. In all, 201 outbreaks were confirmed in fourteen counties, involving the slaughter of 11,335 pigs for which £129,954 was paid in compensation. The total expenditure incurred in dealing with the outbreaks came to over £143,000. Apart from this heavy cost, there is no doubt that the disease contributed to a reduction in the number of pigs.
Restrictions on the movement of pigs in the Dublin area were enforced from 11th August, 1956, to 21st March, 1959. At one period from 21st June, 1957, to 12th December, 1957, when the disease position was particularly grave, restrictions in some form were imposed on the movement of pigs over the whole country.
I would like to pay tribute to all those who gave such tremendous help and co-operation in stamping out this disease.
Before I finish with veterinary matters, I feel I must refer to the Veterinary Medical Association's boycott on the recruitment of veterinary officers by my Department. I regret very much that the Veterinary Medical Association have persisted in this course, especially having regard to the efforts of my late predecessor and myself to effect an understanding with them. These efforts finally resulted in agreement to submit the matter in dispute to Conciliation and Arbitration. That agreement provided that vacant posts in the Department could be advertised freely after an offer at Conciliation level. It is an appalling state of affairs that an organisation of professional men should openly and flagrantly, with such possible damaging consequences to the country, repudiate their plighted word and again impose their boycott on recruitment after the Government immediately accepted the arbitration award in full and even after those concerned with the award had got the entire benefit of it. I have refrained all these months from making any public references myself to this important matter. Indeed I have done so when under pressure from other quarters to make the whole position known. If we are not to have machinery such as that provided in this case for settling salary claims, what other more suitable machinery can be designed. When the Government goes so far as to agree to such machinery, it should not be difficult for any reasonable person to see that they cannot go any further. The worst feature of all, in my view, is that when after protracted discussions agreement to settle the matter finally by arbitration was deliberately entered into, there should be a breach of such an understanding on the part of the Veterinary Medical Association. This entirely bewilders me.
In making this statement at the eleventh hour, as I have mentioned, and before anything further is said on this whole regrettable matter I appeal again to the members of the Veterinary Medical Association and especially to the many members of it who are so busy with their own private practice and who may not be fully conscious of all that is said and done in their name, to take a keener interest in this important subject; and I do not think it unreasonable to hope that they will take steps to insist that when a serious agreement is made in their name they on their part will ensure that those elected to control the destinies of their organisation will honourably fulfil their obligations.
I need hardly emphasise the basic importance of our educational and advisory services in diffusing knowledge to farmers throughout the country. These services are fundamental to our agricultural progress. The numbers of agricultural instructors have been increased during the past year and we now have five agricultural advisers for every one adviser employed before the war. I shall welcome proposals from Committees of Agriculture for the further strengthening of their advisory services. I am very glad to see that many Committees of Agriculture have increased the numbers of scholarships to agricultural schools and colleges and to the rural domestic economy schools this year, and I trust that this will have the effect of encouraging more boys and girls to avail themselves of the very valuable training which is given at these institutions.
Amongst the new developments initiated during the past year is the Farm Management Survey. This Survey is designed to provide advisers with information which will be useful to them in helping farmers to plan and run their businesses more profitably. The Committees of Agriculture, the Central Statistics Office and An Foras Talúntais are co-operating with the Department in the operation of this Survey which will, I am confident, make the work of our advisory services more fruitful.
Very considerable improvements in the long and short term credit facilities available to farmers have been introduced in the past year. These should put capital within the reach of all deserving applicants. There are indications that farmers are already availing of these new facilities to an increasing extent, and I am told that bank advances to farmers between January, 1958, and January, 1959, have increased by about £5 million.
Wise use of credit, coupled with technical advice now so readily available, is about the best means by which farmers can increase their incomes and provide a reasonable standard of living for their families. I hope that, in particular, small farmers of good character but limited resources will be accommodated as they would then be in a position to carry more stock and to increase their production generally. I suppose, Sir, I dare not express the hope that this Estimate will be treated as generously as that of my colleague who went before me.
