Vol. 478 No. 2
8 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the specific measures, if any, he proposes to take in order to address the current severe income crisis in farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10939/97]
A wide range of special measures have been or are being taken to support farm incomes. A special BSE package worth £70 million was negotiated in June 1996 and was paid out to beef producers last October. This brought total direct payments to farmers to over £909 million in 1996, the highest ever level.
A further BSE compensation package of £30 million will be paid out shortly. In addition, the conditions for payment of the deseasonalisation premium were renegotiated in 1996 and special agreement was reached on continuing this very important scheme in Ireland in 1997 and beyond. The scheme will be worth over £20 million to winter finishers this spring because of the high levels of slaughtering — it was about £15 previous to that. A further £15 million was negotiated under the extensification scheme, and this will be paid out to beef producers in 1997. In addition, a compensation package worth £75 million for green £ revaluations in November and January has been agreed and will be shortly paid out to producers. Additional EU funding of approximately £25 million will be provided to compensate for the latest green rate revaluation on 28 March.
I have raised the matter of export refunds at the EU Council of Ministers and with the Commissioner for Agriculture, and have asked for the restoration of rates to their former level and for other measures to support Irish beef prices.
All these measures underline my determination to protect farm incomes which have been affected by a number of factors, including movements in world prices, the BSE crisis, export refund cuts and the revaluation of the Agricultural Conversion Rate.
The Deputy will be aware that this morning the Leader of the Opposition raised the question of a public meeting that Deputy Walsh and I will be attending this evening. I had a meeting at lunch time with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance, and a statement will issue tonight. I intend to pay some national compensation to beef farmers who I consider have been very badly affected. I do not have a copy of that statement with me but, because I do not want to be discourteous to the House, I can say here first that it is my intention to invite applications from farmers for a national scheme, which will be subject to Commission approval as is the normal procedure, of some £50 per head of steer and heifer slaughtered in an export meat plant or domestic abattoir in Ireland from 1 April to 10 June. The Deputy will be aware that the last revaluation took place on Easter Saturday. The meat factories opened for business on Easter Tuesday, subsequent to the Easter break. Prices dropped over Easter by about 5p or 6p a pound. I have decided to target this £50 a head at the most needy. This is equivalent to 7p a pound and will compensate people for the very serious body blow inflicted on beef farmers since Easter. This will run until 10 June which is the end of the DSP period. From an administration point of view we will be doing this by way of top up to the DSP premiums.
On the package that will be announced later tonight, will the £50 per head apply to steers and heifers sold through marts?
No. Last year I introduced a compensation scheme which I extended to marts and serious problems arose in regard to dealers and agents who were paid moneys. There will be a retention clause in this scheme. The DSP is straightforward. Since heifer prices are affected, it is my intention that those farmers will be included. It is not administratively possible to telescope money, but we are talking about a national payment in the order of £17 million. There has been no precedent since we joined the European Union, apart from some drought and weather related payments, for national payments to beef producers. This scheme is paid for by the taxpayer. The House will be aware of the difficulty with public finances with reference to the Maastricht Treaty. For that reason this scheme is the most appropriate in that it will target those in greatest need and most deserving of funding.
Cattle farmers will be disappointed to learn that there is no provision for those who sell through the marts. Will there be any payment for the 40,000 hard pressed dairy farmers to whom I referred earlier, who suffered about 25 per cent loss because of revaluation?
The recent focus of lobbying has been on the beef sector and the meeting to be held tonight will also concentrate on that sector. In the context of the £26 million that will be paid for the revaluation of 28 March, the Government is considering further measures for payment to the non-beef sector. There will be compensation for other sectors, but it will not be on the same scale of generosity or resource allocation as for the beef sector. In equity, given the limited resources, that is the right thing to do.
A sum of £15 million to £17 million falls far short of the £73 million to which the Minister gave a commitment in the Davenport Hotel. Is there any provision in the package for cereal and sugar beet farmers who also suffered substantial losses?
I never said, in the Davenport Hotel on 4 February or elsewhere, that there was a question of full compensation. I have been pursuing this issue since January and I am very thankful to the Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach and my Government colleagues for their support. In the past year I secured £184 million in compensation for beef farmers that would not otherwise have been secured — I read out the details earlier — and that record will stand the test of time.
I asked about cereal and sugar beet farmers.
The same answer applies as I gave in regard to the dairy sector. They will be considered on the same basis.
They will get nothing.
They will get something, but I will not tell the Deputy today.
The Minister should tell us soon because he has not much time left.
