In the absence of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman and in accordance with Standing Order 90(3) I invite nominations for the position of Acting Chairman.
Business of Joint Committee.
Clerk to the Committee
I propose Deputy Bobby Aylward.
Clerk to the Committee
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Deputy Bobby Aylward took the Chair.
Apologies have been received from Deputies Mattie McGrath, McEllistrim, Christy O'Sullivan and Sherlock. The Chairman has stated he will arrive later.
Are the minutes of the meeting of 8 July agreed? Agreed.
The joint committee went into private session at 12.13 p.m. and resumed in public session at 12.18 p.m.
We will now hear a presentation by IFA Aquaculture.
I indicated to the Acting Chairman that prior to the commencement of the business proper I wished to raise matters along the lines of the point raised by Deputy O'Keeffe. There are two very significant issues on the farming agenda. One is the decision made by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to suspend the rural environmental protection scheme. The other which is related is the issue raised by Deputy O'Keeffe relating to the dairy sector. We should seek to meet the Minister at the earliest possible date to discuss these issues. We have a slot vacant on 28 July.
That is subject to the Minister agreeing to meet us.
Using the good offices of the Acting Chairman and his colleagues it should be possible to arrange a meeting with the Minister to discuss these issues. None of us is immune to the controversy raging about REPS or the related crisis in the dairy sector. Officials from the Department have come before the committee, but these issues need a political input. I suggest that the committee write to the Minister and ask him to come before us on 28 July on those two issues.
There is a proposal from Deputy Creed that we write to the Minister and ask him to come to a meeting on 28 July.
That is the only available date. If the Minister could indicate any date between now and then we might be able to accommodate him.
Is it agreed to write to the Minister and ask him to come before the committee to deal with the two serious issues mentioned, namely the dairy industry and REPS 4? Agreed.
The issue of the dairy industry could be broadened as it is not strictly a national issue, it is a European matter. We should start a campaign seeking emergency funding to help the Irish dairy industry in this very difficult period, where all dairy farmers are in a serious loss-making position because of the policy pursued by the European Union a few years ago. The case must be made and the quota system must be looked at whether we like it or not.
The threat of quotas being increased in Europe has aggravated the world's dairy industry and all countries involved in the sector have pushed ahead with substantial volumes of milk because of the threat. The Germans and French have put it on the agenda to defer the quota increase for a while and we should support that in this country. The family farms of Munster, rather than big farmers, are the driver of the Munster agricultural economy. If we do not support the family dairy farm, there will be nothing left in the Munster economy.
Jobs are being lost every day in industry because of the world economy. Milk has been very important because of that. The Acting Chairman also comes from a milk county and he saw yesterday's Glanbia report. There is a crisis and this is a European issue. We should seek a meeting with the agricultural committee of the European Parliament or with Commissioner Fischer Boel. There is a conflict between the Commissioner, the German Chancellor and the French Prime Minister.
We produce only 5 million tonnes of milk in this country. Fonterra has provided 13 million New Zealand dollars to help those farmers in this difficult period. There is much nonsense spoken about the restructuring of the dairy industry but that will not do anything but make it much worse, as has happened in the pig and other industries. There is a crisis in the area. I accept the point on REPS but that is a national issue.
If we get the Minister in here we will put that point to him.
We can try.
I will speak to the Minister tomorrow morning.
Our best access to Europe is through our Minister. We have agreed to ask the Minister before us whenever it is possible and I hope it will be 28 July.
It should be any date between now and the end of July if he is available.
The committee will be available to accommodate him. The other proposal from Deputy O'Keeffe is to write to the Commissioner. Is that agreed?
It is too important for merely writing to the Commissioner. We should seek a meeting with the Commissioner and the agricultural committee of the European Parliament.
That is what I am saying. Is that agreed?
This is very important for Ireland as jobs will be lost in many provincial towns in Munster and Leinster otherwise. There will be an excess of farmers. I am told from sociologists and people in the business that we could lose 15,000 dairy farmers in the next two years. It is a frightening figure.
Is that agreed?
I will second that. We should certainly seek a meeting and there is no point in being prescriptive about a solution currently. We have had substantive meetings here on the future of the dairy industry and lengthy dialogue with all the stakeholders. There are different views on what needs to be done in the medium term. We should not be telling the Commissioner or those in Brussels that we have a menu which we demand to be enacted. We should certainly seek an urgent meeting to discuss the crisis and the various alternatives which may be available.
We cannot prolong this discussion because——
There is a need for emergency funding for the dairy industry in order to save it. I know what I am talking about. I am not looking for sympathy. I met 100 farmers the other day to discuss REPS, and most of them were dairy farmers. They asked when the price of milk would rise and what would happen. I could not tell them, although I understand the pressure they are under. I know farmers who bounce cheques and I know a contractor who could not get diesel to cut silage.
We cannot keep talking about it all day. We have agreement to write to the appropriate authorities. Will they come here or will we travel to the meeting?
Whichever would be quickest would be best.
Is that agreed? Agreed. I apologise to the deputation before us today for holding them up as there were some internal matters that we had to discuss in public.