Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy. This is something that has to be at the core of all of our attention in the time ahead. We are blessed to have a wonderful food-producing country, to have a landscape and a climate that facilitate this and, indeed, to have a farming community which has the skill set and the passion to be able to ensure that the sector is as strong as it can be. However, in order for the agricultural sector to stay strong and to maximise our future potential, we are depending on bringing young people in to drive it on, manage it, be innovative and bring new ideas and new energy.

That has to be the absolute focus of all our policy going forward. It is something I have put a particular focus on over the past three or four years. I made sure it was a key aspect of the current CAP in terms of the funding we put in. I tripled the amount of funding under the CAP which is going to young farmers. That means, for example, young farmers participating in the young farmers scheme for the first five years of their farming life can now get a payment of €170 per ha every year for the first five years, compared with €68 per ha 18 months ago. It is now €170 per ha every year for the first five years. We have also put significant funding into the national reserve and into TAMS with a 60% grant as before, and a particular focus on women, also with 60% grant aid, to try to improve the gender balance at farm level and deliver the progress we have seen elsewhere in the food and farming sectors. It is slower to come about at farm level.

Going forward I have announced my intention to establish a commission on generational renewal gathering all ideas so we can put the young farmer at the centre. I am open and will be engaging and looking for submissions from all political parties and key stakeholders, but I am also open to any ideas the Deputy has about how best we can establish that commission in a way that will deliver the best results and make sure it delivers an outcome and pathway forward that puts young farmers at the centre.

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