I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Davern, to the House. He will be aware that small and medium sized farmers, particularly those in County Clare, are experiencing significant difficulties due to a combination of factors such as the inability to sell cattle as a result of the foot and mouth outbreak in the earlier part of the year. The fact that farmers had to hold on to cattle and provide them with additional fodder was very costly.
A number of dairy and beef farmers are participating in the control of farm pollution scheme for which there has been a substantial uptake throughout the country. I appreciate that the £15 million set aside for grant payments under the scheme has already been spent. Many farmers are awaiting the cheque from the Department, but, unfortunately, the bank is, in many instances, waiting for it too. Farmers are paying interest on loans they have taken out. The situation might not be as serious as it is were it not for the unsold cattle and additional fodder payments.
I appreciate that the Minister has made representations to Brussels in regard to the difficulties being experienced by farmers, but the Department is surely in a position to meet a certain level of payments from Exchequer funding. I raised this issue with the Minister, Deputy Walsh, in early August and was sure that the matter would have been dealt with in Brussels by mid-September. We are now in the middle of October and nothing has happened. I urge the Minister to explore other means of dealing with the matter.
Small and medium sized farmers in what were traditionally known as disadvantaged areas are subject to the area based compensatory allowance scheme which is based on acreage rather than headage. Lowland farmers are benefiting to a greater degree than farmers with poorer land. Some farmers receive £70 per hectare while others receive £60 and £45. There are huge discrepancies between the various categories of farmers. I urge the Minister to increase payments in the lower and middle categories to £70 per hectare to avoid this distinction. It is ironic that the farmers with the best land are getting the most money. The Minister should remove the inequalities in this area. If one goes into particular townlands or parishes, one will find one farmer receives £3,100 while another receives only £1,600. The Minister of State, hailing from the fine land of Tipperary, may not appreciate the level of disadvantage about which I speak. However, he is a reasonable and logical man and I am confident he will recognise the need for fair play in this area.
A survey of farm incomes published last week showed that almost 60% of farmers earn less than £10,000 per annum while 63.5% earn less than the average industrial wage. Many farmers will not acknowledge this as their standing in local communities is a matter of pride. I urge the Minister to recognise the particular difficulties which have arisen this year and acknowledge the need for a special package to address them on a one-off basis.