I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £6,666,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st March, 1965, 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.
The net amount of this Supplementary Estimate, added to the original Estimate for 1964/65, brings to an all-time record level of £30,324,700 the expenditure from the vote for my Department. The corresponding figure ten years ago, that is, in 1954/55, was £7,250,950; five years ago, £13,478,460; and last year, that is, 1963/64, £25,262,000. This increasing expenditure reflects both the continuing development of our agriculture and the increasing measure of support and assistance which the Government are extending to it.
I do not think it would be appropriate, on a Supplementary Estimate which is confined to a specified number of subheads, to make the kind of general policy statement which is usual in introducing the main Estimate. I may say, however, that our agricultural policy in general will continue to be developed within the framework of my Department's "Brown Book"—a publication which I believe has received a considerable measure of support throughout the country.
The biggest provisions in this Supplementary Estimate are for Subhead N and Subhead K 14. Practically all the additional provision in Subhead N is required to finance the increase of 2d. per gallon of creamery milk announced in the last Budget. This increase in the allowance came into effect on 1st May, 1964, and is estimated to cost £2,800,000 in the present financial year. The cost of the increase in a full financial year on the basis of present production levels would be about £3 million.
As we all know, milk is of fundamental importance in our agricultural economy. Not only does it provide a steady source of income, especially for the small and medium-sized holdings, but it is also the foundation on which our cattle industry and, to a substantial extent, our pig industry depend. Milk production has shown a steady increase in recent years, due both to increased productivity—which has been greatly helped by lime and fertiliser subsidies and other schemes—and to the increases in price support given in the last three financial years. Total creamery milk production in 1964 is estimated at 363 million gallons, as compared with 337 million gallons in 1963, 324 million gallons in 1962 and 240 million gallons ten years ago. The total amount of the farmers' creamery cheque in 1964 is expected to be in the neighbourhood of £34 million which is about £5 million more than last year, £7 million more than 1962 and £15 million higher than ten years ago.
Exports of milk products have increased considerably in recent years. Exports of butter are expected to reach about 18,700 tons in the year ending 31st March, 1965, and there has been a notable increase in the exports of milk products other than butter, which is reflected in the increasing diversification of our milk processing industry. The production of such products as milk powder and cheese is now very much higher than it was previously, and we appear to be arriving at a healthy balance between the production of butter and of other milk products. Prices on export markets, while they have improved substantially for products such as butter and cheese, are still well below our actual cost of production. Considering the export market problems which face them I think that An Bord Bainne are doing a good job, and it is particularly gratifying to note that Irish creamery butter is selling both in Britain and in the Six Counties at prices above those paid for most other butter. Granted reasonable weather conditions, we look forward to a further increase in milk output next year.
Under Subhead K 14, we are looking for an additional sum of more than £2½ million for the calved heifer grants. Our original estimate was £405,000, but the response to the scheme has exceeded all our expectations and there is every indication that the scheme is having the desired result of increasing the number of cows in the country, and, therefore, will lead to higher cattle production in the future. By the end of October just over 73,000 herds had qualified for grant, the number of animals concerned being nearly 146,000. Herd-owners in every county are qualifying in considerable numbers for the grants. Relatively speaking—that is to say, relative to the existing number of cattle already in the country—the counties which are qualifying for a particularly large share of the grants are Roscommon, Longford, Cavan, Monaghan, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal, but every county is, in fact, doing well. I believe that this scheme, which is quite a novel one for this country, is proving to be a considerable success, and I am very hopeful that it will enable us to effect a major break-through in cattle production.
The next Subhead in order of size is K 11—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Scheme—where we are asking for an additional sum of nearly £600,000. Our purchases of reactors in March last, payment for which was made in the present financial year, were particularly heavy. The rate of compensation is also higher than we had anticipated, due to the steep rise in cattle prices as compared with last year. However, even with the additional sum now sought our total expenditure on the eradication of the disease will be £3½ million less than last year. We are confident that the six counties which are not yet attested, that is, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, will be declared attested within about a year from now, and we shall then be able to celebrate the attestation of the entire country. Already, the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in the six counties I have mentioned has been brought down to a low figure. The present round of tests has disclosed an overall incidence of only 0.5 per cent and an incidence in cows of 0.8 per cent. In fact, therefore, tuberculosis has been largely eradicated from these counties, and what we are now undertaking is the final mopping-up operation so as to ensure that the counties will be technically ready for attestation within the next year.
As a result of the progress made in the eradication of bovine tuberculosis, we are now in a position to make effective plans for the deployment of our veterinary resources on the elimination of other animal diseases, including brucellosis. I have already announced our intentions in this regard. I am glad to say that these plans will be considerably facilitated by the fact that, with the agreement of the British veterinary authorities, it has now become possible to reduce check-testing to 50 per cent of the herds, instead of 100 per cent as previously in seven of the present attested counties, namely, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Cavan and Monaghan.
As will be seen from the Supplementary Estimate, our other schemes are also forging ahead. We are looking for additional money for the Land Project—Subhead K 7—and for Farm Buildings—K 6. These schemes are moving ahead very satisfactorily.