111. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had discussions with his counterparts in the EU on the future of the CAP budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25995/25]
Sentiment score: 0.01
I raise with the Minister an issue with regard to where Ireland stands on the upcoming CAP negotiations. Farmers envisage a lot of difficulties in the future. While prices are high at the farm gate, farmers will still depend on having an adequate CAP in place to guarantee their future and sustainability. There are serious concerns around this kite that has been flown about changing Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 and maybe amalgamating them with other areas. There are concerns that this funding will not be ring-fenced or available in the future. We would like to get reassurance on what the Minister's proposals will be going forward.
Sentiment score: 0.11
It is clear that the multi-annual financial framework is going to be vital going forward and we will get a sense of where it is at. The key issue for farmers is that there are so many competing interests. The Minister mentioned defence and security which is the one in the headlines at the moment. I concur with him that food security is vital for everyone across the European Union and across the globe. When we have huge problems, such as those we have at the moment where we see great uncertainty from the point of view of conflict and tariffs, all of which can have a huge impact, it is vital in Ireland and across Europe that farmers are made sustainable. It is vital to know we can produce our own food to feed our people and that farmers can do so in a way that gives them an income and keeps them sustainable. That is what we need to do. We need a longer CAP, one which stretches out further so there can be more assurance further into the future. That is vital because the short term nature of CAP so far has been to the detriment of Irish and European farmers.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I thank the Minister and recognise all of that. At the core of this, and it is the point our colleague from Laois made, is the issue of Pillars 1 and 2 and the kite being flown regarding where we will be in the future. It is something that really needs to be dealt with because farmers are fearful when change comes in like that that we will see an erosion, particularly of Pillar 1, which is the direct payment they get that they depend so much on throughout the country. It is particularly so along the western seaboard and in the west. Farmers are on more marginal land and are struggling more, and they need that payment and assurance into the future. It would be vital to make sure that happens. On the budget itself, this point goes back many Governments. Every time we have a CAP we see the budget squeezed down a little bit. It has not kept up with inflation; it has actually reduced systematically for farmers. We need to see a reversal of that if we are to have a future for farming that will be sustainable across the country and across the European Union.
Sentiment score: 0.06
113. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the TB summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25996/25]
Sentiment score: 0.01
I raise the issue of the TB forum, and some of the soundings that have come from it which have concerned many farm organisations and people on the ground. In my part of the world and in many places we have seen increased incidence of TB and huge problems on foot of that, with farmers being locked up and not being able to sell or trade their animals. The efforts that have been made over the decades have not yielded results, and there needs to be acknowledgment of that. The eradication programme has been, shall we call it, a failure. I think it is pretty much close to that at the moment, and I would like to see what exactly we can do to turn that around if at all possible.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank the Minister. It is stark. That 36% increase really brings home the huge difficulty currently. Wildlife control is one of the serious impacts on all of this. We have to get to grips with the reality. In some parts of the country it is deer; in other parts of the country it is badgers. There are issues there that need to be dealt with. The vaccination programme has also been a failure in respect of that. It simply has not worked. I wonder, particularly in blackspots where we have serious outbreaks, whether we should have a mandatory blood testing of all animals rather than just the skin test that is there at the moment. Is that something that needs to be considered? The vaccination of animals at birth is something I know has not been rolled out anywhere yet. It is something we seriously need to look at as a method of control, that we can have the BCG vaccine for all calves when they are born and that would control them into the future. I know there will be issues the Minister will raise with regard to traceability, and whether they will have the same test for a positive in that respect as if they have got the TB from wherever else. I think there can be unique tracers put on the animals at the time they are given the vaccination. Everything needs to be considered because what we have done at the moment has simply failed.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I thank the Minister. He mentioned increased funding. I believe the eradication programme cost about €75 million in 2023. There is a lot of money being spent on this, going back over the decades. We talk about the price of the children's hospital. We are into that kind of money having been spent on trying to eradicate TB in this country, and we are probably worse now than we were many decades ago. It is time to look at this anew. I respect that the Minister said he has taken on the views of many of the farm organisations and people who were at the forum who felt the initial proposals were trying to place the farmers very much in the firing line in relation to this. There has to be a way of dealing with it in a partnership way whereby everybody can work together to try to eradicate this disease. Ultimately, that is what we need to do. We need to build a consensus across the farm organisations, the Department and everybody involved in the food industry to ensure we can continue to produce the high quality beef product in Ireland that we can market all over the world and that we can guarantee we have eradicated this disease once and for all. It will take a Trojan effort and that is why the Minister needs to continue to work with everybody to make that happen.
Sentiment score: 0.07