Proposed farming fund compared to ‘cash for ash’ scheme

There were sharp divisions in the Dáil over a proposed compensation fund for tillage farmers when a Fine Gael TD compared it to the controversy that has led to the North’s upcoming election.

Fine Gael TD Jim Daly described the Fianna Fáil proposal as "an open chequebook to 11,000 cereal farmers".

Mr Daly said “we need to look no further than north of the border to see the result of poorly thought-out and poorly orchestrated schemes”.

The Cork South-West TD said the North’s upcoming Assembly elections were the result of this type of scheme, in reference to the crisis over the renewable heating scheme which is expected to cost £490 million (€577m).

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“I accept this is a populist proposal but it is not very practical,” he said of the Fianna Fáil private member’s motion which calls for a crisis compensation fund of €4.5 million to support tillage farmers, particularly on the west coast, whose grain crops were devastated by heavy rains in September and October.

Fianna Fáil TD Eugene McGrath described his comments as “unbelievable” and Independent TD Mattie McGrath said he should support farmers.

Tillage farmers protested outside the Dáil and a large number also sat in the public gallery for the two-hour debate.

Mr Daly acknowledged there was a crisis for cereal farmers and said he would continue to work with Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed "to ensure a properly thought-out and developed package of aid is put in place to help these farmers".

‘Disgraceful comment’

Sinn Féin agriculture spokesman Martin Ferris said he was disgusted by Mr Daly's comments and he noted that he was no longer in the House for the debate.

“He tried to compare cash for ash, which was a questionable scheme introduced by the DUP, with an aid package for genuine farmers,” Mr Ferris said. “It was a disgraceful comment to make and I hope that when the Minister gets to his feet, he will distance himself from it.”

But Mr Creed said Mr Daly’s analogy “is not lost in the context of stating if we have a poorly devised scheme we will have to make sure it is focused and targeted. In this sense the analogy was not inappropriate.”

The Minister pointed out that in contributions to the Dáil debate, some speakers spoke of 250 farmers being involved, “some speak about 350 participants and some speak about 400 participants”.

Mr Creed said that in discussions with stakeholders they needed to scope out who was involved and “what the terms and conditions would be before we rush headlong into establishing a scheme”.

It was the job of the Opposition to raise the issue “but I have to grapple with the complexities of how we do it. I am anxious to do it in the best possible way, to deliver to those who are most adversely affected.”

Fianna Fail agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue who introduced the motion, said however that they had known about this issue for quite some time and his party had been campaigning on it since September.

Mr McConalogue noted that in September the Minister had said he did not want to affect the ongoing salvage operation, when tillage farmers attempted to rescue what they could of their crops in the wake of heavy rains.

‘Time for a decision’

“The salvage operation concluded long ago and the time for a decision by the Minister also passed long ago.”

Sinn Féin TD Carol Nolan claimed the Government was failing grain farmers by refusing to prioritise the issue the way the French had by bringing it directly to the European Council, and officially asking for support.

She said the only way to receive EU crisis funding was for a number of countries to ask.

But Mr Creed said he wanted to “nail as a blatant untruth” that he would not support an initiative by others at EU level to deliver aid for the Irish tillage sector.

He said he was the only person from the 28 member states at the most recent Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting who raised the plight of the Irish tillage sector.

He said it was not an issue resonating with the French and “without the support of the French, the Poles, the Hungarians and the Romanians on a tillage issue, it is extremely difficult to make progress”.

He added: “In the opposite case, when members who have an interest in the dairy sector, the overwhelming majority, make a case politically, the Commission sits up.”