Pig farmers get €20k each under proposals to go to Cabinet

A vet tending to pigs. The pig sector has been suffering serious financial losses in recent months.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue will bring a support package worth €7m for the country's pig farmers to Cabinet today.

The sector, which has only 300 farmers but generates an output of close to €1bn, has been suffering serious financial losses in recent months due to rising costs and a drop in prices being paid for pigs. 

Prices for inputs such as feed and energy have skyrocketed, coinciding with a drop in the price received for pigs from the market.

Mr McConalogue's support package is worth €20,000 per farmer and will be paid out to all finisher pig farmers who are members of the Bord Bia quality assurance scheme. The minister will tell Cabinet that the support payments must be paid out quickly for the sector.

Cabinet will also discuss amendments to the Road Traffic and Roads Bill, including one which would scrap the proposed age limit to buy an e-scooter. This is because of fears such a move would be unenforceable. Proof of ownership of the vehicles would not be required under the bill. Another amendment would allow the Road Safety Authority to give NCT data to prospective car buyers.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will bring the Consumer Rights Bill 2022 which will strengthen rights and entitlements for consumers. Mr Varadkar will also bring a plan to establish an economic taskforce for the Shannon Estuary region. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will also outline Ireland's latest national debt report, which he will publish tomorrow.

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman will also publish the long-awaited Institutional Burials Bill immediately after Cabinet on Tuesday.

The legislation, once passed, will allow for work to begin on the site of the former Tuam mother and baby home, where the remains of almost 800 infants and young children are believed to have been buried in a sewage tank.

Writing to survivors of mother and baby homes on Friday morning, Mr O'Gorman said: "This important and sensitive legislation has been a priority for me. I have taken time to meet with and reflect carefully on the feedback from those most closely affected by this issue and have made substantial and meaningful changes to the legislation to address their concerns."

Mr O'Gorman hopes that the bill will move as quickly as possible through the Oireachtas to allow for "timely enactment and implementation" later in the year.