Danny Healy-Rae: Demands Support for Irish Grain Growers
Danny Healy-Rae addressed concerns about supports for Irish grain farmers, imports from Ukraine and the risk that promised funds could be taken from other farming budgets. He urged that a £65 million commitment to grain growers be honoured and warned against measures that would disadvantage Irish producers.
Danny Healy-Rae recalled a £65 million promise mentioned by a Deputy and said he will monitor that the commitment is honoured. He warned that the money should not be reallocated from sheep farmers or other farming sectors and said he would insist the promise is delivered as intended.
He raised questions about grain imports from Ukraine and cited a figure of about 70,000 tonnes from memory. A Deputy Chair responded to say official figures show about 57,000 tonnes of wheat were taken in from Ukraine last year and explained imports depend on where the cheapest supply is available.
He expressed concern that imported grain and inputs may not face the same regulations as Irish producers, mentioning fertiliser rules and rented land described as "unprotected jury". He called for a level playing field so Irish growers are not disadvantaged and said he would pursue policy changes and protections advocated by speakers such as Matt Gimsey.
He warned against repeating the decline of the sugar beet industry, noting that the factory in Mallow was dismantled and production moved abroad. He described the speech and presentation as informative, thanked speakers for their work, and said he would continue to raise these issues on behalf of farmers.
Funding pledge and oversight
Danny Healy-Rae recalled a £65 million promise mentioned by a Deputy and said he will monitor that the commitment is honoured. He warned that the money should not be reallocated from sheep farmers or other farming sectors and said he would insist the promise is delivered as intended.
Ukraine imports and volumes
He raised questions about grain imports from Ukraine and cited a figure of about 70,000 tonnes from memory. A Deputy Chair responded to say official figures show about 57,000 tonnes of wheat were taken in from Ukraine last year and explained imports depend on where the cheapest supply is available.
Regulation and a level playing field
He expressed concern that imported grain and inputs may not face the same regulations as Irish producers, mentioning fertiliser rules and rented land described as "unprotected jury". He called for a level playing field so Irish growers are not disadvantaged and said he would pursue policy changes and protections advocated by speakers such as Matt Gimsey.
Concern for other industries and local communities
He warned against repeating the decline of the sugar beet industry, noting that the factory in Mallow was dismantled and production moved abroad. He described the speech and presentation as informative, thanked speakers for their work, and said he would continue to raise these issues on behalf of farmers.
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Transcript
I'm glad to get the opportunity and I want to welcome each and every one of you here today. It's been a really informative process and event for me because I've learned a lot of things. My eyes are open to things that you're after highlighting there that are going on. You will appreciate where I come from specifically. There's hardly any grain grown there in South Kerry, but we have a lot of good tillage farmers in North Kerry. And I suppose one of the things I'm very proud of when I drive up here every day and drive down whenever is to see the grain growing. We'll start in East Cork and all the ways up along and to see the golden grain, it's great. And we could never visualise or should never visualise that that won't be a part of Ireland going forward, I suppose. The first speaker here, Willie Heard, Deputy Heard, he mentioned the £65 million which has been promised by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. And for me, as an independent, there's no difference between the two of them that the one part that you're all in Tinkham purpose is known, because they're in government together and their policies, they're joined to heap day by day. You would have to talk to my brother. I never came in the same car, anyway. And I have to fight my own battles at the doors. But anyway, if he promised £65 million or it is promised to the grain growers, I'll be watching and I'll be insisting that he honour the commitment that was given. And the other part of it is, though, I don't want it to be taken out of the budget that the sheep farmers have or any other sector, farming sector. That's not the way to do it. They're promised that there's extra money and they can't take it and I'm upset because I got a rumour today that the sheep farmers may be caught. But I don't know where they're thinking of going with that money, but that will hurt me very much as much as it will hurt me that he don't get here money. And you're well entitled, but when we hear that there's a different policy demanded or a different regime that he have to follow in relation to fertilisers and all that, and that the other ones that we're importing don't have to, that's upsetting me a lot. And I suppose I have a question there. How much grain do we import from Ukraine? Does anyone know? I have, I don't have the figure in front of me, I think it was 70,000 tonne I think last year, I think. But that's available from the Department of Agriculture. I will remind everyone here, one of the first loads of grain to leave the Ukraine landed in Ireland after the war. And it's supposed to be destined for the horn of Africa in these countries. And we, our politicians, clapped in the grain at the port. Well, I'm asking that question because we, if we are paying more to Ukraine grain growers than we're paying to Irish grain growers, that hurts me because we have subsidised Ukraine in a very big way and they're still doing it. I see the trouble here in with the rented land and we should, our government and our administration should be supporting Irish farmers and insisting now that we have to, can only have unprotected jury and what I call something that will grow nothing, to be honest, costing more. My honest belief is unprotected jury would actually grow nothing. And we're being forced to use that now and pay more for it and cost us more. And the people that are exporting grain in here and that we're importing grain from them are not, they're not obliged to, you know, adhere to the same regulations. Is that right? Maybe someone could explain that a bit more to me. If I can, Deputy Chair, on your first question on the Ukraine, just in terms of the numbers that we have in front of us, it would appear that we took in last year about 57,000 tonnes of wheat from the Ukraine. But it's important to say that the source of imported grains is always dependent on where the cheapest supply is. It's not necessarily a regular trading pattern that's there all of the time. It's wherever importers can get it cheapest. And sometimes all that will be will be a boatload of exported product that went onto the high seas to one place. All of a sudden it was turned around and it had to find a market somewhere else. So that can often be the origin of the low-cost imports. Thank you. I suppose in relation to Matt Gimsey there, the policy changes that he's asking for, I'm very interested in that. And we'll be ensuring that at every opportunity I'll be looking for that and raising that because we must have a level playing pitch at all times. And it doesn't seem to be that he has that. And look, a part of us, I may not be a grain farmer, but I understand for him. And we appreciate the attention that he gave us here today and the amount of he did have come in. And I can see support behind him here. And we're very enthused by your presentation and, you know, we're more informed and I appreciate you very much. My time is short, I'm out of time. But we're very concerned for you and we don't want to happen what happened to the beet industry. I often think she could be revitalised or reopened again. The sugar beet factory, imagine they blew every bit of it out of Mallow and she's working over in Belgium or somewhere at the same plant. We're under the same sky. We're actually in the same European market. So I can't understand that. But, Chairman, thanks very much. And, again, we appreciate you very much for coming in here and thank you so much. Thank you very much. Thank you.