Today I raise an issue that has previously been raised, which shows the importance of the issue, namely, the crisis in Irish agriculture with beef sector farmers and what they have gone through and continue to go through basically to try to provide an income on their family farms.

All farming sectors will face major difficulties post Brexit but Brexit has come already to the many beef farmers throughout the State. The very mention of Brexit two years ago seems to have given factories across the country the right to cut the prices on cattle. Prices have fallen by 20 cent to 25 cent per kilogram or in the region of €100 per head. This leaves many beef farmers unable to cover their costs and causes them to sell their cattle at a serious loss, which leads to huge stress in these family farms.

Factory prices currently do not meet the costs of producing the cattle. Some beef producers are also fattening some of their own cattle in their own feed lots. It is estimated that up to 20% of finished cattle are coming from factory controlled units. This is putting farmers in west Cork and throughout the State at a serious disadvantage. Some factories were found to be underweighing the cattle, thus underpaying our farmers for their meat. Little or nothing is done for the farmer in this regard.

For a farmer to break even, he or she needs to be getting €4.60 per kilogram but at the moment, the farmer is getting €3.40 per kilogram. Who is creaming off the farmers' back? The Tánaiste and I know who it is but nothing is done to stop this carry-on. Factories are arrogant in this country and have been left arrogant by the Government as we stand idly by and see many farmers who have farmed for generations go out of business. All we have to do is look across to the UK where farmers are getting €150 per head more for their cattle than Irish farmers get. How can this happen there and not here? Our farmers are putting out the best quality cattle and getting a shockingly poor return. Here lies the crisis for our farmers to simply survive.

The last budget was a great opportunity for Ireland to stand up for these farmers by giving them a €200 suckler cow grant. The Government, however, failed these farmers by only giving them €40. Many believe it would not be worth the trouble financially of weighing the cow and calf to just get €40 in return. The Government has had ample opportunity in the past three years to turn the fortunes of the beef farmer around but on the ground nothing has happened. This morning we see a new crisis looming for farmers as reported in leading articles in national newspapers. It looks like our friends in Britain are upping the ante in the battle over the Brexit backstop. Their plan aims to allow beef-producing countries such as Brazil to dodge the brunt of new import taxes or tariffs after Brexit. This will mean huge quantities of Brazilian beef being pushed into the UK market and quality Irish beef being priced out.

Agriculture and fisheries are two of the major industries in Ireland but at present, one senior Minister is responsible for both industries. This may have worked in the past but now with a very serious Brexit looming, the situation has changed completely. I see the crisis we are in and the bigger one facing us. I have called for a senior Minister to be responsible for each of the two industries and I call for that again today. Will the Tánaiste and the Government see what Ireland sees and appoint a stand-alone Minister with responsibility for agriculture and food to fight to save the livelihood of thousands of farmers?

I can assure the Deputy that I understand only too well the pressures of the beef sector. I chaired a beef forum for a number of years and I know the personalities in the sector well on the factory side and on the farm side. We have supported and will continue to support the beef sector through the rural development programme, where we have invested €300 million in the current development programme to support the suckler sector. Another €20 million was announced in the last budget and another €25 million was added to the area of natural constraint, ANC, payments, primarily focused on beef suckler farmers. The Government has not and will not be found wanting in support for this sector, especially when there are pressures from outside, such as those decisions we do not control that are linked to Brexit.

On the Deputy's question, I do not believe it would make any sense for us to restructure the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine right now, with regard to the fish sector. There have been conversations and preparations under way for many months around Brexit and that Department has focused on the pressures and vulnerabilities for both fishermen and farmers. The idea that we would go through some kind of restructure now with 36 days to go to a no-deal Brexit would not make any sense. That is about as polite as I can be about that.

I have had the discussion with the Taoiseach and with others at different times on whether we should separate the fishing portfolio from agriculture. Having thought about it I do not think we should. It is the food sector and I believe that fishing in particular is enhanced in its representation around the Cabinet table by being linked to the broader food sector, especially when it comes to exports and Brexit, with the potential need for compensation packages and EU intervention in both sectors to ensure they can survive should we have a worst-case scenario of a no-deal Brexit. Incidentally, I do not believe it will happen but if it did, we would need to be ready and we have a Department that is working night and day to put contingency plans in place should it come to that. The idea that we would restructure and change our personalities at this late stage is not a decision we should be taking now.

Approximately 170,000 people are employed directly in the agrifood sector and 250,000 people employed indirectly in the wider rural areas in agrifood production. Does the Tánaiste realise the extent of the crisis these farmers are in? I truly do not think he does.

Tonight hundreds of farmers will attend the beef plan meeting in the Westlodge Hotel in Bantry. The Tánaiste may ask how do I know there will be hundreds. I will tell him why: they have had two meetings already in Kerry and hundreds of people turned up. West Cork will be no different tonight. These farmers are near the edge and are attending in their hundreds hoping this group or someone out there will step in and deal with this crisis. The Tánaiste keeps telling me that we cannot have a stand-alone Minister with 36 days to go to Brexit. This should have been done two years ago.

Hear, hear.

The Government should have had a vision. It had no vision for farmers or the fishing people of this country - the people on the ground will say this - to tackle the crisis we are in head on. Will the Tánaiste please tell me what I can offer the farmers at tonight's meeting? What can I offer as a hope or a solution to the disaster they are dealing with, which is not being able to get a proper price or market for their cattle or feed their families at home?

All of us in the House have a responsibility to try to give farmers guidance, reassurance and information.

The Government is letting them down.

To state there is no vision for farming in Ireland is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts.

Abandon the fishermen first.

We have a plan called Food Wise 2025, which was preceded by Food Harvest 2020, which itself was preceded by a good Fianna Fáil plan. Farming is one of the few sectors-----

Not a beef plan.

If the Deputy would just listen, he might learn for a change.

I am listening.

Farming is one of the few sectors in Ireland where consecutive Governments have planned five years ahead and this has been hugely effective in building and supporting a strong industry.

It is a crisis now.

It did not happen by accident that in the middle of a recession in Ireland, the agrifood industry and farming actually prospered. It did not happen by accident that Ireland-----

You want to get rid of them.

-----has changed the approach of the European Commission to the CAP to reflect the realities of farming in Ireland. Moreover, if Irish agriculture and farming face an emergency and crisis linked to decisions made in Westminster, it will not happen by accident that we will be able to support that industry and those family farms through that crisis period, which the Government will do.

Will the Tánaiste come with me to Bantry tonight to see the crisis on the ground?

The Deputy should not be raising fears.

Please, Deputies.

I am not.

The Deputy is playing politics with it. This is serious.

No. I am being honest.