Tillage Sector: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-15
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Sorca Clarke (SF), Longford-Westmeath

The Minister said earlier that the tillage sector was an integral part of Irish farming. I happen to agree with him; it truly is. It is the backbone of farming in many of our communities. It contributes almost €1.9 billion annually to the economy and supports up to 11,000 jobs. That is something we need to take seriously. Despite that, our local tillage sector is under severe pressure. I know that from speaking with tillage farmers in my area. There has been a 42% reduction in tillage area since 1980 and a 50% reduction in the past decade. The majority of tillage produce goes toward livestock feed, yet we still import 3.5 million tonnes of animal feed every year. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain are used in the drinks industry annually, yet the volume of grain imported by that industry is growing year on year. It is not a requirement for Irish whiskey and the likes to actually use Irish grain to be classed as Irish. We now import the majority of our flour and about 40% of vegetables. Adding to that is the ongoing lack of management of our waterways, particularly along the River Shannon, something our guests from Clontarf will be very familiar with in terms of flooding.
Five years ago, Deputies Kenny, Kerrane and I introduced a Bill, the River Shannon Management Agency Bill, to put one single authority into place to combine the works of the ESB, Waterways Ireland and the local authorities across those 11 counties. The Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae spoke of the mental pressure experienced by tillage farmers. There is no greater pressure on tillage farmers than standing knee-deep in water for the majority of the year. It is absolutely soul-destroying for them. Farmers along the Shannon know too well the impact of flooding that could and should be prevented. It is not just acres that lie underwater for weeks and months on end; it is farms, livelihoods, dreams and prospects. It is worsening every year. Gone are the days where it lasted for a few weeks and it was back to being dry. In some places it is wet almost nine or ten months of the year. This past week alone the Callows flooded again, yet there is still no single authority in charge of the River Shannon. The OPW, ESB, Waterways Ireland and the councils are all involved but there is no accountability. Farmers told RTÉ that their livelihoods were being destroyed as water levels rise. The local press reported emergency efforts around Athlone with ESB saying the flow was now beyond control.
It is simply getting harder for tillage farmers to farm. Yes, the land under tillage is being reduced. The grain prices are on the floor. There is competition from abroad with GM crops being cheaper. There are rising costs for machinery, diesels and fertiliser. You name it and the price has gone up. What we also have is a lack of drainage and water management. That has now become a core productivity activity for these farmers. It is not a side project. If we want seed beds in March and combines in August, we must get a practical solution to the issues along the Shannon, including maintenance where it is needed, timely decisions made on those decisions and a single authority to manage the river. No amount of SIM payments is going to matter a flying fiddlers if the fields are underwater.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-10-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:13+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-15