I was dealing with the recommendations for the dairy industry and the bacon industry. I think it would be very bad for the country if the suggestion to amalgamate the creameries were acted upon. These creameries perform their own function and provide the farmer with many services.They provide him with credit when required; they provide a lorry service and so on. The same applies to the bacon industry. It would be a backward step to have only three or four very large factories in the whole country. I understand another recommendation is that the farmer should pay for these factories by a levy of 5/- a pig.
It is hard to understand the Minister's action in sanctioning the closing of the flour mills. In his speech he mentioned that the trend in France and Germany was to provide employment for the small farmer by the provision of industry. Here, instead of encouraging the growth of industry in the smaller areas, we find the policy of the Government is that it should be centralised in three or four industrial centres throughout the country such as Shannon and Dublin. They say that only in these places will the industries get the services they require.
That is a very wrong policy altogether. As a result of Government policy, we have flour mills closed in my constituency. Because of an amalgamation in the fertiliser industry, we have had a loading depot, a storage depot and a compounding depot closed in Kilkenny. If the Minister were to follow his remarks about France and Germany to their logical conclusion, he would promote industry in the smaller areas. For years we have heard the Minister for Transport and Power say that the flight from the land was no worse here than anywhere else and that the only hope was to establish industry to absorb those people. But now, even in places where industries are already established they are being closed down. I suppose the Taoiseach being a city man, does not know very much about the ways of the country.
I notice the Minister resents the protest meetings and marches of the farmers. He says they are an imitation of what has been done on the continent.But are the Minister and the Government not the best people to prevent these meetings and marches? If the Minister and the Government co-operated with the farmers, they would not have to bring people together from all over the country to protest. We would not have what we had in Limerick recently where 500 or 600 guards were sent to protect the people from the farmers, where two guards were appointed to escort each tractor in the procession in case anything might happen.
It has been proved these marches produce results. There was the case of the increased grant for the relief of rates. Nothing was done about it until the farmers protested strongly in several areas. I understand they were asked not to protest in Dublin, that their claims would be met before they arrived there. They were met, with a £2 million grant for reduction of rates. I see the same thing occurred in regard to the heifer scheme. We had meetings in Athlone and a protest in Limerick and then the heifer scheme was initiated. These organisations consist of responsible people who do not want to embarrass the Government. They have able and brilliant men in the farming industry at their heads and want to co-operate with the Government.Apparently, the Government do not want that co-operation. Only when people feel they do not get the co-operation they deserve do they organise the protest speeches and marches the Minister resents so much.
Although it may be very hard for him, I ask the Minister to co-operate with the organisations so that in future when any claims are made, they may be debated and discussed as happens with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. I see the Taoiseach is anxious to meet the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and to have consultations with them and with employers' unions but there is no suggestion of any meeting with farmers. He has no time for them. He does not understand them. I know the Minister is in an unenviable position in trying to help farmers.
Deputy Allen mentioned the Land Project. I was surprised that any Fianna Fáil Deputy should have the temerity to mention this subject. We know what happened when the present Government came in. The Minister now speaks about the credit being provided for the farmers but was not this an ideal credit scheme for the man who could not afford to meet his share of the cost of the Land Project, that it could be put on the annuities and he could pay for it as the land is brought into production? This was not a scheme only for the man who could find a large sum. There was the option of Section A, if he did not want it put on his annuity. If a man had not got the capital sum, he could opt for the second part of the Land Project.
Deputy Allen said the cost now was about £60 per acre while the maximum grant now was £30. This, he said, should be increased to £45 per acre. I support him in that but I would prefer it had he asked that Section B should be restored to enable the farmer who cannot pay the capital sum to be facilitated. Under the new issue which is being made to counteract the effects of the turnover tax, we are going to provide houses for the farmers in respect of which the capital sum can be put on the annuities. But in the Land Project, Section B, there was already provided the necessary credit which people required very badly. I suggest that, to the best of his ability —I know it is hard to get any hearing unless there is a protest march or something like that, from the present Taoiseach—the Minister should keep pressing and try to get a fair deal for the farmers.