Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They could be but this is speculation. While Deputy Ó Cuív was absent from the room, Mr. Comer mentioned that between 85% and 90% in receipt of larger payments are active farmers. Some 245 farmers have payments over €100,000. The flawed argument should not be made that we have produced all these armchair farmers. We have nearly 90,000 active farmers in the country who receive below the average of €9,000. At least 50,000 farmers in this country have a payment under €30,000. Only 245 farmers receive a payment over €100,000 and one or two receive enormous payments, which is not right. They are corporate bodies. I do not accept the argument that we will produce a legacy of armchair farmers. The majority of farmers are active and want to stay active. The single farm payments they have built up through a legacy of being active and intensive must be protected by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It cannot suddenly be dissolved. How will we achieve Harvest 2020 targets if we dissolve single farm payments?