Farm incomes have dropped drastically in recent years, a former minister of state for agriculture claimed in the Dáil.
Jimmy Deenihan (FG Kerry North) said the price of a gallon of milk, for example, was the same now as it was in 1978, while farm inflation had increased by about 500 per cent in the same period.
He said this was a very difficult time for farmers and the outlook for beef farming was not good, either. "Survival will be challenging and difficult because after the next round of WTO (World Trade Organisation) talks there will be more beef from countries like Brazil, Argentina and Third World countries on the Irish market, creating competition."
Mr Deenihan, who was speaking during a debate on the Land Bill 2004, said the scenario was totally different from when the Land Commission was established in 1881.
"At that time, land was everything. It provided food and the only means for a family to make money by selling produce. Land is important now in terms of its value for development."
Mr Deenihan welcomed the provision of the Bill that all land annuities should be written off. "However, Fine Gael had a briefing meeting with the IFA some time ago and that organisation suggested that the level of annuity to be written off should be increased from €200 to €400. I would suggest that an increase to €500 is appropriate and would benefit approximately 5,500 farmers."
Bernard Durkan (FG, Kildare North) said he had dealings on behalf of constituents during the 1980s and 1990s when interest rates were high and some small landholders had received additional plots of land from the Land Commission. "This caused them great difficulties as it entailed heavy repayments relevant to the income generated from agriculture at that time."
