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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 19 Jan 2017

Vol. 935 No. 2

Tillage Farming: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Charlie McConalogue on Wednesday, 18 January 2017:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes:
— the absolute necessity to support tillage farmers and the rural communities that rely on this sector;
— that the continual trend of low grain prices, increased input costs and poor margins over the last number of years has intensified the income crisis and financial hardship in this sector;
— that farming organisations have estimated that tillage farmers suffered a severe income reduction of between €70 million and €80 million over the course of 2016, with reduced production in excess of 400,000 tonnes;
— the average net margin on tillage farms in 2016 was minus €130 per hectare, as outlined at the recent Teagasc Outlook Conference;
— that severe inclement weather badly damaged and destroyed tillage crops in Autumn 2016, encompassing coastal regions and other counties;
— the refusal by the Government to provide specific ring-fenced funding to offer financial assistance to tillage farmers who have seen their land and crop destroyed by severe weather in 2016; and
— the appalling vista that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine underspent, by €86 million, its 2016 expenditure budget;
recognises the example of the Aid Scheme for Potato and Vegetable Crops Damaged by Frost, which was introduced in 2010; and
calls on the Government to:
— immediately establish a crisis support fund to provide direct payments to farmers who were impacted by severe crop loss in 2016;
— avail of current European Union (EU) State aid 'de minimis’ regulations that allow the Government to make available tailored support payments for farmers of up to €15,000 per producer over a three year period;
— build alliances at EU level to seek Commission approval for temporary suspension of EU import tariffs on fertilisers to reduce input costs for tillage farmers;
— promote increased use of native grain and Irish malt in the manufacture of Irish whiskeys, artisan products and craft beers;
— implement proposals submitted by farming organisations at the National Tillage Forum; and
— open at once a Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) investment tillage scheme which the Government had promised to commence in Autumn 2016.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:
“notes:
— the absolute necessity to support tillage farmers and the rural communities that rely on this sector;
— that the continual trend of low grain prices, increased input costs and poor margins over the last number of years has intensified the income crisis and financial hardship in this sector;
— the average net margin on tillage farms in 2016 was minus €130 per hectare, as outlined at the recent Teagasc Outlook Conference;
— that severe inclement weather badly damaged and destroyed tillage crops in Autumn 2016, encompassing coastal regions and other counties;
— the introduction in Budget 2017 of an adjustment to the current ‘Income Averaging’ system, allowing for an opt-out in an exceptional year; this facility is available for the 2016 tax year, in recognition of the cash flow concerns of farmers;
— the December 2016 payment of €3 million under the Protein Aid Scheme, paid to over 1,000 farmers growing in excess of 12,000 hectares of beans, peas and lupins; this coupled scheme was introduced in 2015 as part of the implementation of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy package in Ireland; and
— the early payment of Basic Payment and Greening payments, which commenced on 17th October, 2016, with balancing payments issuing from 1st December 2016;
and calls on the Government to:
— commence the rollout of the Government’s €150 million Agri Cash Flow Support Loan Scheme, in co-operation with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), as a direct response to the challenging situation faced by farmers in recent months;
— ensure availability through this Scheme of highly flexible loans to livestock, tillage and horticulture farmers, for up to six years, for amounts up to €150,000, at an interest rate of 2.95 per cent, made available in line with the European Union’s (EU) agriculture State aid ‘de minimis’ requirements;
— evaluate further measures for the long term sustainability of the tillage sector, pending the drawdown of this fund, and the resulting utilisation of ‘de minimis’ requirements, including in regions affected by a poor harvest in 2016 due to inclement weather;
— build alliances at EU level to seek Commission approval for temporary suspension of EU import tariffs on fertilisers to reduce input costs for tillage farmers;
— promote increased use of native grain and Irish malt in the manufacture of Irish whiskeys, artisan products and craft beers;
— consider further proposals submitted by farming organisations at the National Tillage Forum and convene a follow up meeting of stakeholders to engage in further discussions on the strategic future of the tillage sector; and
— open a Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) investment tillage scheme."
- (Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine).

I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding tillage farming. On Wednesday, 17 January 2017, on the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 49; Staon, 0; Níl, 87.

  • Bailey, Maria.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Cannon, Ciarán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • Creed, Michael.
  • D'Arcy, Michael.
  • Daly, Jim.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deering, Pat.
  • Doherty, Regina.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • English, Damien.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Fitzgerald, Frances.
  • Fitzpatrick, Peter.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Humphreys, Heather.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kyne, Seán.
  • McEntee, Helen.
  • McGrath, Finian.
  • McLoughlin, Tony.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
  • Moran, Kevin Boxer.
  • Murphy, Dara.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Neville, Tom.
  • O'Connell, Kate.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Rock, Noel.
  • Ross, Shane.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Varadkar, Leo.
  • Zappone, Katherine.

Níl

  • Adams, Gerry.
  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Barry, Mick.
  • Boyd Barrett, Richard.
  • Brady, John.
  • Brassil, John.
  • Breathnach, Declan.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Browne, James.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Cahill, Jackie.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Casey, Pat.
  • Cassells, Shane.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Chambers, Lisa.
  • Collins, Joan.
  • Collins, Michael.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Connolly, Catherine.
  • Coppinger, Ruth.
  • Cowen, Barry.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • Curran, John.
  • Daly, Clare.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Donnelly, Stephen S.
  • Dooley, Timmy.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Fitzmaurice, Michael.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Healy-Rae, Danny.
  • Healy, Seamus.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Kelly, Alan.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McDonald, Mary Lou.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • Martin, Catherine.
  • Martin, Micheál.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Murphy, Eugene.
  • Murphy, Paul.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • O'Brien, Jonathan.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Keeffe, Kevin.
  • O'Loughlin, Fiona.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Rourke, Frank.
  • O'Sullivan, Jan.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Ryan, Brendan.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Shortall, Róisín.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smith, Bríd.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Tóibín, Peadar.
  • Troy, Robert.
  • Wallace, Mick.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Regina Doherty and Tony McLoughlin; Níl, Deputies Pat Casey and John Lahart.
Amendment declared lost.
Motion put and declared carried.
Barr
Roinn