First, I want to associate myself with the remarks made on the atrocity that happened in Texas.

I wish to raise an issue in relation to farmers. Last Monday at 7 p.m., I met with over 300 farmers at an event organised by the Galway Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, in my own parish in Corofin. It was organised by Mr. Stephen Canavan, chairman of the Galway IFA. The mood of farmers at the event was one of genuine concern and fear for the future of farming as a result of the unprecedented increase in input costs, such as that of fertiliser, feedstuff and fuel. Farmers are also aware that they have no control over the price they will get for their products at the end of the day. They are price takers. The feeling among farmers is that they are extremely concerned that they have to endure these increasing costs. They are worried. There is an acknowledgement that supports have been provided by the Government and some of these supports have been very welcome. However, there is a delay in the rolling out of the silage support scheme, which is causing farmers to be stressed. One of the questions that at least 15 farmers asked me last night was where they apply for the scheme and what criteria apply. There seems to be no information available to them. They also raised the issue of the European crisis reserve fund. There is no clarity and farmers have told me that it is just another announcement without money actually being provided. The message from farmers is that there is a crisis.

We are almost finished the month of May, which is the best growing season for grass. What is happening is that farmers have bought their fertiliser and inputs. Credit is very tight for all involved. Effectively, farmers are not seeing the result of these supports coming to them. It is important that farmers get that support now. Farmers need the support to come directly to them. This is an issue that will affect every citizen in the country, because farming is all about food production. If we cannot produce the food efficiently and make it available, everybody will be affected by it. If there is a shortage of food at the end of the day, if we do not have the feedstuff to feed our stock at the end of the year, what will happen? What will farmers do? I have met farmers who have not bought any fertiliser this year. They are relying on nature to grow grass for them to feed their stock. What will happen next winter? I am not so sure. It is a crisis. It is okay to have announcements. However, we need to take effective action and ensure there is clarity for farmers so they know where they are going to get the money, and when they will get it. The exceptional temporary support scheme was announced last week which talks about bringing money forward from Europe to pay it out. However, effectively, payments will not be made until next year. Farmers and agriculture contractors cannot wait that long.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I can assure the Deputy that protecting farm family incomes is a priority of Government. Close to €10 billion in total, between EU and Exchequer funding, will support around 120,000 farm families over the next CAP period between 2023 and 2027. We have a farming and food sector that we should be proud of. It is an indigenous business and supports family businesses. We must ensure that continues, and it will. Budget 2022 provided €1.9 billion for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. That is in addition to almost €1.2 billion in EU funded direct payments received annually. The Deputy is absolutely right. There is no question that the war in Ukraine has exacerbated issues for farmers. The Deputy mentioned the cost of fertiliser. Farmers were previously paying between €250 and €300 per tonne of fertiliser. That cost is upwards of €1,000 per tonne now. We are acutely aware of the impact that those cost increases have on our farmers and indeed our farming community.

The Deputy mentioned certain announcements. We will see these announcements being implemented. I engage with farmers in the horticulture sector in my own area of north Dublin on a regular basis. They require support. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced a number of measures amounting to around €35 million in very targeted supports, including €20 million in two packages to the pig sector worth up to €90,000 per farm family, €12 million for the tillage sector and an initial €3 million for the horticultural sector. I absolutely recognise the difficulties that our farming families and communities have. The Government will continue to support them. We want to ensure that the close relationship between farming organisations and the Government remains and that we work very closely together through this period to see us through the other side of it. The jobs that are supported in this sector are crucially important for our regions and for rural Ireland, in particular. To be fair to the Government, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is engaging on the issue and was in Brussels earlier this week for a meeting of agriculture ministers. He has been very open and has been bringing forward targeted schemes. We are not saying that those schemes will initially resolve all of the issues there, but we are open to looking at other areas where we can help. That is why the engagement between the farming organisations, the sector, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Government is crucially important. I assure the Deputy that we will continue to do that. I know the Deputy has been a very strong advocate on behalf of our farming communities and organisations.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are continuing to engage with officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on funding of the fodder scheme, for argument's sake. We envisage the terms and conditions of the scheme being finalised shortly. It will then be published and rolled out.

I thank the Minister for that reply and I acknowledge the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is working under great pressure to get the supports in place. Farmers have the problem that the announcements have been made over recent months but the call for the funding and the application process is still not in place and this is the biggest concern they have. In looking forward to the end of the year, we need to ensure as a matter of urgency that we have a detailed inventory on what fertiliser, feedstocks and fuel are in this country.

Funding is required to support the growing of catch crops and the spreading of lime, which is a replacement fertiliser and is a great deal cheaper, but incentives are needed to do that. Excise duty on agri-diesel and liquid petroleum gas, LPG, for farm relief use should be brought into place. We should also reduce the VAT rate for agri-contractors. We have done that for the hospitality sector and it is important we also do it for the agri-sector. Agri-contractors do not get any credit from Revenue when they are carrying out their work and have to pay over the VAT when they get it. We therefore need to give that flexibility and margin these contractors need, in the interests of food production and of agriculture. This is an emergency we need to deal with now, not in September and October. We need to ensure money is injected into the farmers’ pockets now and not to leave it until the end of the year.

The point is well made by Deputy Canney and is well understood on the side of the House. I wish to give the Deputy the comfort that the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is meeting and continues to meet regularly with stakeholders to discuss the impacts, particularly of the Ukraine crisis and the increases in costs associated with that. He has tasked a national fodder and food security committee with the preparation of a response to the emerging crisis in feed fodder, fertiliser and other inputs. He is developing contingency plans and advice to assist farmers in managing their farm enterprises. Within the Department the Minister has also established a rapid response team because when we announce packages of support, we obviously want to see them rolled out without delay. That is happening. Farmers can also plan on the basis of knowing what schemes are there. Teagasc has been doing a great deal of work directly on the ground with farms across all sectors to assist where we can.

I assure the Deputy of the paramount importance of the agriculture, farming and horticulture sectors to us to support jobs, farm incomes, our rural communities and our regions. We will continue to do that. I encourage the farming organisations to continue their very constructive engagement with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on this issue.