Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions today. In common with Deputy Ferris, I find myself in agreement with many of the points made, particularly in respect of capital assets for student grants and the need for this to be related in income and not just for farmers. This is a potential issue for all small businesses and business people nationwide and, hopefully, it will not be an issue. As for land mobility, it is important to acknowledge the moves that were made in last year's budget. The witnesses themselves observed that not all of them come at a huge cost but they involve some thinking outside the box. Moreover, they will require the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, to consult with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, because many of them pertain as much to finance as they do to agriculture. However, progress must be made in this regard.

As for land mobility and land consolidation, the recent construction of motorways through my constituency of Kildare South in the area around my home left a huge problem whereby small parcels of land were left on either side of a motorway. Were changes introduced to the tax system to provide some relief in this regard, one could have a system in which it would make more sense for such small parcels of land to be consolidated as farmers could carry out a swap. As this is not happening at present, it would not really be tax foregone as such transactions would start to happen. The position is similar in cases in which a young farmer might take over a holding in which there are out-farms. It would make much better sense for such a farmer to try to consolidate that holding. We must make an effort in this regard because it is too prohibitively expensive for this to happen at present and consequently it is not happening.

The witnesses referred to partnerships and I seek their views on my perception that dairy partnerships are the only ones which really are on the table at present. It is very important that progress be made to broaden out their use to the beef and other sectors. However, some people are scared away from the partnership model because it entails quite a big commitment. However, I refer to scenarios involving young farmers in particular, who might not have a huge amount of land themselves but who might have elderly relatives or neighbours with land who do not have the wherewithal to undertake a really intensive programme. Do the witnesses have ideas on measures short of partnership but which encompass that sharing mechanism and on what could be done to try to facilitate this by the Government? Even if it is not a full partnership, there may be measures the Government could introduce that would not entail a massive cost but which could help or surmount some of the difficulties. I acknowledge there are difficulties and fears in this regard and some farmers do not wish to participate in such schemes. I seek the witnesses' views on the subject and in general, I thank them for their presentation.