The Government has been accused of wasting a “great deal of time” before putting measures in place, particularly in relation to fodder shortages, for farmers impacted by severe wet weather conditions in recent weeks.
The Sinn Féin spokesperson for agriculture, Claire Kerrane, told the Dáil that farmers throughout the country “have been under pressure and have been running out of fodder“.
“I have met farmers who, in some cases, sold livestock a couple of months ago because they did not have the fodder and they were really concerned about the cost of it, never mind getting it transported to them in the first instance,” she said.
Deputy Kerrane highlighted that farmers have been battling wet weather conditions since last July and had to contend with very challenging conditions throughout last autumn and winter.
A three hour debate was held yesterday (Wednesday, April 24) on weather-related supports for farmers in the Dáil during which the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon both delivered statements.
Deputy Kerrane said while the statements were welcome she believed “they would have been more timely a number of weeks ago”.
She told the Dáil: “In January, following Agriland‘s snap national survey showing that 34% of farmers were running short of fodder and that 33% would have to purchase more fodder, I asked the Minister to outline a plan to support farmers at that point.
“Instead, he and the department waited until April to announce a suspension of some inspections, and after that, the fodder transport support measure, all of which I welcomed but they did come after a long period.”
The Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon and Galway also said that she knew from speaking to farmers that “many of them felt very much on their own as the rain continued to fall and and as they kept being told the department was monitoring the situation.”
“A great deal of time was wasted and farmers were left feeling on their own in many cases,” she added.
Wet weather
The Labour Party TD for Tipperary, Alan Kelly, also said that the debate on wet weather supports for farmers should have been held “some time ago”.
Deputy Kelly said it was important that Ireland “put in place the mechanisms” to be able to deal with climate change and “have the triggers in place depending on the weather patterns”.
“If the minister and the minister of state were to formulate a plan for how that would happen so it would kick in one way or the other, that would be excellent,” he added.
The leader of the Social Democrats, Holly Cairns, warned during the Dáil debate that it would be potentially devastating “if we do not adapt our farming practices and supports.
“The amount of rainfall we have been experiencing over recent months has pushed the agriculture sector to a crisis point.
“This has been an absolutely devastating time for farmers across all sectors. We need to open up a conversation about the future of agriculture in this country. The farming community knows that better than anyone else.
“There is an opportunity here for an exciting transformation of our farming model but we have to be brave and honest enough to have that conversation,” Deputy Cairns added.
However the Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary, Jackie Cahill, who is also the chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, spoke starkly about the immediate challenges now facing farmers.
“An awful lot will depend on the weather we get in the next six to eight weeks.
“That will determine what kind of silage or store of fodder will be there for the winter of 2024-25,” Deputy Cahill said.
He said while he welcomed all the government had done “to help farmers through this crisis” key challenges remained.
Deputy Cahill said these ranged from a significant fall in milk production this spring to the date for the reduction in protein feeding for dairy cows, pressure on building up fodder stocks and “a very significant need for slurry storage on all farms”.