Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 April 2018
160. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a meal subsidy will be put in place for farmers to offset the meal bills which they have incurred during the fodder crisis; and if a crisis payment based on stock numbers to help farmers deal with the fallout of the fodder crisis will also be put in place. [18463/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the problems experienced in parts of the West and North-West in the late autumn and winter I took a number of steps to address issues around the availability of fodder. I asked Teagasc from an early stage to work locally with affected farmers in areas with fodder difficulties and support them on fodder budgeting for the winter ahead. I prioritised the payment of farm supports to assist farmers with cash flow. In this regard my Department has paid out over €1.6bn to Irish farmers under Pillar I and Pillar II and will continue to make residual payments.
As a further early intervention, and to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the issue of fodder availability in affected areas, I convened a fodder group chaired by Teagasc, and comprising of all the main stakeholders including feed merchants and co-ops, banking, farm bodies etc.
I introduced a targeted ‘Fodder Transport Support measure’ on 29 January 2018 to provide additional assistance to those livestock farmers in parts of the West and North West severely affected by on-going fodder shortages. The main purpose of the measure was to support the cost of transporting fodder between those areas where it was plentiful and those where it was scarce. It is operated primarily through the Co-operative structure.
The continuation of cold wet weather throughout March resulted in a serious delay to the onset of spring. Grass growth remained negligible, ground stayed wet and livestock had to remain housed in many cases. This resulted in the fodder problem extending countrywide with a consequent tightening of fodder availability nationally.
In response I extended the fodder transport measure to all counties and also introduced a Fodder Import Support Measure, to ensure that there was adequate fodder available to feed the national herd. This measure was introduced on 5 April to reduce the cost to farmers of imported forage (hay, silage, haylage etc.) from outside the island of Ireland. Northern Ireland is excluded. The measure is operated through Co-operatives and other importers approved by the Department. It covers fodder imported up to 30th April 2018. Support under the measure substantially reduces the cost to farmers of imported fodder. This allocation will support the importation of up to 20,000 tonnes of fodder into the country and this will be kept under review as the weather situation continues to improve.
In other supports, planning continues with a view to commencement of balancing payments under certain Pillar II schemes including the Sheep Welfare Scheme followed by the GLAS scheme in the near future.
The GLAS Traditional Hay Meadow grazing date has been extended to 1 May 2018, and this makes available an additional 27,000 ha of grazing for livestock which would not otherwise be available.
Furthermore, I have recently met with the CEO's of the main banks to discuss any cash flow issues arising from the recent bad weather and access to finance for the sector generally. During these meetings I continued to stress that in the context of the current situation the banks should be flexible and put measures in place to support their customers.
I am satisfied that all of the above measures address the remaining issues around fodder availability and it is not planned to introduce meal vouchers.
Now that more normal spring conditions have arrived and grass is once again plentiful, the next step will be to prevent this situation arising again, through supporting farmers to effectively plan and manage their grass and fodder supplies for the coming winters.
