I was very interested in the issue raised by Deputy O'Rourke as it has some bearing on my matter which relates to people who have suffered severe financial difficulties as a result of pursuing programmes which were put forward as beneficial and lucrative. I am referring to those farmers — approximately 40-50 are from my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan — who were encouraged to take up deer farming in the belief that it would be a bonanza.
Adjournment Debate. - Deer Farming.
It is the same as the Christmas trees.
The only difference is that these farmers were encouraged to take up deer farming by people of a high calibre. Some farmers are caught by milk and beef quotas while poultry farmers cannot increase production and the former Commissioner, Ray MacSharry, strongly advised them to take up deer farming. He was so much in favour of this type of farming that he became a director of Galtee Deer Farming. He and other senior politicians, including the former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, led many farmers to believe that deer farming would be a bonanza. Some farmers invested sums of £50,000, £60,000 and £70,000 in ordinary deer while other farmers bought pure bred deer for £2,500-£5,000 each. One deer bought by Ray MacSharry made the grand total of £27,500.
One can see, therefore, how easy it was to encourage farmers to take up deer farming. I raise this matter to ascertain if the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry can help alleviate the difficulties experienced by many of these farmers through headage payments, etc. Many farmers sold their milk quotas and machinery to take up deer farming and some of them are now being forced to sell their land. They were promised that the deer would be bought back from them at a guaranteed price. However, some farmers who contacted me were offered only £3.63 per kilogram which is a quarter of the initial price of £12.63. One can imagine the uproar by beef farmers if they had to accept a similar drop in prices.
Some Monaghan farmers were given loans by the AIB in Fermoy even though their farms had not been inspected by the manager. One farmer who bought 25 Hungarian cross hinds and one Hungarian stag for a total cost of £27,675 and who spent an additional £10,000 on fencing was told that he would earn a profit of £13,200 per year for at least five years. The former Commissioner, Ray MacSharry, advised farmers who attended a meeting in Three Mile House in my area that they should take up deer farming. Will he or anyone else now advise these farmers on how to meet their bank commitments?
Given the difficulties in the beef sector, an opportunity now exists to promote the sale of venison. However, this is not being done. According to the details in the three fancy brochures for 1993, 1994 and 1995 many of our deer population are pure bred Hungarian deer. The brochures stated that we had 61, 96 and 80 pure bred deer. As far as I can gather from a parliamentary question I tabled, only a small number of deer came from Hungary. I wonder from where all these deer came. Some were bought in England, Scotland and Wales. Is it possible that some are deer to which papers were issued?
It is a serious situation as farmers are on the point of bankruptcy and are looking for a way out of this problem. I hope the Minister will have positive news and that the former EU Commissioner and former Minister for Finance will be able to come to the aid of farmers. He advised them that the market was open and that it would be fulfilling and lucrative and farmers who could not get quotas opted for this. They were led into a difficult and dicey situation and farm families should be bailed out.
I am aware of this problem and I had a recent meeting with a groups of deer farmers in Kerry who face financial ruin because of their entry into deer farming. No doubt the introduction of a headage grant, which Deputy Crawford has sought, would improve their position considerably. The Deputy raised other questions to which I will not be able to respond as they were not mentioned in the matter he raised.
I can assure the Deputy that the issue of paying grants in respect of deer in Ireland's disadvantaged areas is one that has been receiving considerable attention for some time now within my Department. It has obvious advantages in diversifying farm production away from products that are already in surplus to an alternative enterprise taken up by about 500 farmers in this country, 300 of whom are in our disadvantaged areas.
As there was no provision in the relevant EU regulations for payment of headage on deer, the first difficulty we faced was whether we could pay grants in respect of deer at all in our disadvantaged areas. There was provision in those regulations, however, for payment in the case of production other than cattle, horses, sheep and goats on an area basis having subtracted the area devoted to feeding those four categories of animals. This means that we can pay a set amount per hectare of land being grazed by deer provided that land is not being grazed also by cattle, horses, sheep and goats and is not being used for other farming purposes.
Accordingly, my Department is pursuing with the Department of Finance for payment of a set amount per hectare of land being grazed by deer within our more severely handicapped areas and of a slightly lower amount per hectare of land being grazed by deer in our less severely handicapped areas — these payments can be made within the financial envelope currently available for headage within the operational programme for agriculture, rural development and forestry. So far no agreement has been reached between the two Departments on these proposals — and, of course, if or when Department of Finance sanction is received for these payments, it will then become necessary for us to secure the agreement of the Operational Programme Monitoring Committee and from the EU Commission to making them.
I can assure Deputy Crawford that I am as anxious as he to introduce deer grants in our disadvantaged areas. Further discussions will be held shortly with the Department of Finance to progress this issue, so that subsequent negotiations can be opened with the two other bodies mentioned with a view to introducing disadvantaged area grants in respect of deer at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Dáil adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 23 April 1996.