Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on agriculture. I represent the active farmer, which is important because we have many inactive farmers. What I do not like about the motion is that it represents a compensation culture, which is not where we want to go. What are the results of a compensation culture? Our beet industry is gone because of compensation. I thank Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív for his support in trying to bring it back. I was a young farmer in 1983 when one could not expand dairy herds because of the quota. We do not want to go there.

Young farmers at the time abandoned colleges because there was no future for them. Opposition Deputies should not complain that the funds are down. We did not have an agriculture Commissioner and they know well why we did not have one. When we got one, his views on land and farming were completely different from what we have in this country. He also partitioned with the Greens and one has only to look at the results - no winter ploughing and difficulties with phosphates. We are changing that but it has led to a great deal of hardship for farmers. It is a very narrow viewpoint of the world.

The motion does not refer to tax reform. We need to free up land and reduce the dependence on conacre which is hammering the active farmer.

We have a very well educated workforce. We have invested in this workforce and we want these educated people to achieve their potential.

We also need to look at this in the rural environment not just from a narrow farming point of view. We need to look at getting innovation into our rural industries and encouraging people to move into diversification. The Common Agricultural Policy legal framework proposal contained a very good initiative, which fell through eventually, to give €85,000 per household to those who went on to diversify. We need to look at this. In times when agriculture suffers, diversification will provide people with an income.

I do not agree that throwing money at farming provides a panacea. We need sensible policies to encourage the people who are farming. I do not like a cribbing culture. Farming is not about a cribbing culture but is about production, looking forward positively and helping people to help themselves.

See this speech in context