asked the Minister for Agriculture the further measures he intends to take to ensure that farmers will have sufficient feeding for their stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteann—Questions. Oral Answers. - Stock Feeding.
11.
I have announced a series of measures over the past few months to alleviate feed problems faced by farmers as a result of the poor summer weather conditions. Apart from possible limited aid for cereal growers I do not envisage further measures at the moment.
Would the Minister not consider some low interest finance for farmers who find themselves in difficulty as a result of the bad weather this summer?
Not for people who have difficulty with fodder. I have done as much as I intend to do on the fodder question, unless some catastrophic problems arise in winter or early spring. All things being equal, I have done as much as I intend to do at the moment. In relation to a later question also, I am considering at the moment some measures for tillage farmers, particularly cereal growers, in the form of financial aid of a certain type, but I will wait until the question comes up to go into that.
Would the Minister not agree that as far as the feed goes, a serious anomaly exists in areas where farmers who lost their hay crops purchased hay at an inflated price and that is now taken into consideration in the feed voucher? He has admitted that he disregarded the straw but the hay in some instances——
I can see the problem there, or rather there could be a problem. The Deputy will admit that we went a considerable distance towards solving that problem by allowing straw to be omitted from the calculation. Let me say that the Deputy's fellow Deputy from County Monaghan, Deputy Conlon, had a great deal to do with that. He lobbied me very intensely and I think some of the local co-operatives also. I think it was a help but you could not possibly keep tabs of inter-farm sales of hay from one to another and what not. I know some farmers bought hay dear and could not very well afford to do it. It is just not possible to solve a problem of that dimension. I hope, that you did not mind my mentioning a Deputy in your constituency, a Cheann Comhairle.
(Interruptions.)
The Chair keeps repeating that he has no control over the way in which questions are answered.