Mr. John Comer:

The land leasing scheme has worked very well in regard to non-related parties. We would like to see that extended to related parties because there is a void there in terms of transition of family farms from one generation to the next. There is no facility for the retiree to earn an income. On many Irish farms, the mother and father are in their early to mid-50s and the sons and daughters are in their mid to late 20s but the father or the mother cannot take that radical decision to hand over the farm to the next generation because they need that farm to generate an income. If they leased their land to a stranger, there would be a tax benefit for them but if they lease it to a member of their own family, there is not. It would give that window of opportunity to keep the next generation engaged in farming, provide a small income for the parents, who would lease the land back, and provide a built-in protection because there is no mechanism for retirement there.