asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware of the grave position of the small farmers of the west of Ireland due to depressed prices for livestock over a prolonged period, the uneconomic price of milk and the lack of employment opportunities; and what his immediate plans are to rectify this situation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Position of Western Farmers.
7.
I am aware that the poor trade for young cattle in 1966 was particularly severe on the small farmers of the West and North but I would not agree that these farmers are in a grave position. The price trends for other agricultural commodities including milk, sheep and pigs, have been favourable and those farmers who made good use of the wide variety of Government schemes which are there to help them will have earned a satisfactory return. The Deputy is well aware of the various new measures which the Government have introduced to help western farmers and it is my intention to continue to attack the whole problem of western development on a broad front.
I am not so aware of the position: I asked a question last week about the pilot areas but the Minister did not give me a reply. I could not be aware of what he has in mind when he did not reply to me. Coming on a train recently from Sligo to Dublin, I noted that 22 young farmers boarded the train at Boyle. They all got in at the one station. I knew every one of them as they were from my constituency. They were going to Britain for various reasons. Some were going for seasonal employment and intended to return but others did not intend to come back. They were going to Britain in desperation. Is the Minister further aware that the desperation was caused as a result of the promise given by the previous Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries that the price of cattle would be increased by £7 per head and, furthermore, that he advised them to hold on to their stock? Is the Minister still further aware that the farmers will be lucky to get the same price today for that stock, after it has been wintered, as they would have got last November, if they were saleable at all?
Is the Minister aware that many of the schemes that were in operation in the West have been shelved for the past 12 months?
What are they?
Minor employment schemes, farm development schemes, rural improvement schemes and many farm project schemes. In the case of the first three schemes, applications have been refused from any source and in the case of the other scheme I have mentioned, there has been considerable slowing down. That in itself has had a very serious effect on the small farming community. There is no Deputy here but knows how people used to look forward to these schemes coming into operation in November. My colleague has mentioned that cattle were hardly making a price. I can say here to the Minister that there are cattle today going out on the fair for which the same price is being offered as they would have been worth two years ago.
The Deputy is making a speech.
In reply to the questions, of which there was none, apart from that to which I had already replied, might I say that in relation to the matters raised by Deputy McLaughlin, the three schemes he complains of are not under my Department and are not dealt with by my Department. I therefore suggest that any question in regard to them should be addressed to the appropriate Department. In regard to the matters that Deputy Gilhawley asked was I aware of, I would say that the quick answer is that I am not aware of all the things he was talking about.
(Cavan): Did I understand the Minister to say that he is not aware of the grave position of the small farmers in the West due to the depressed price of cattle? Did I hear the Minister correctly?
You did, yes.
(Cavan): Might I suggest that he take immediate steps to ascertain the true position of the small farmers of the West, including Cavan, and do something for them?
I would say to the Deputy that when I say I do not agree that these farmers are in a grave position, that is in relation to what was asked of me, the trade for young cattle. That there are farmers in a grave position and have been for a considerable time is in the knowledge of all of us and this is something we want to remedy but to suggest that the cattle trade is solely responsible for this position is not accurate or true.
(Cavan): Does the Minister not agree that the deplorable price for cattle in 1966 is the main cause of the desperate position of the farmers at the moment?
I do not, and there was a Deputy put out for something like this yesterday. You would need to be careful.
(Cavan): The Minister is not likely to get out of it that easily. I respectfully suggest that the Minister should take steps to find the facts.
Question No. 8.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The Minister is fiddling while the West of Ireland is dying. This will be known as the black year, 1966-67.
The Deputy is in the wrong year.
Deputies
The wrong decade.
Question No. 8.