Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The meeting has been informative. It is interesting to see the other aspects of the priorities. I have just been approached by members of the Irish Farm Management Association, of which I am probably a lapsed member. They have reconstituted themselves and are interested in coming before the committee. Mr. Joyce made the point that young farmers do not want to be seen as land-grabbers, but the men and women operating farms, who tend to be older and have been around for a while, can have a vision about land mobility and the availability of land because a significant number of them operate on land they do not own in the first place. Maybe their perspective on it is compatible with Macra na Feirme's, and that is something we should develop.

The Minister will examine many of the priorities Macra na Feirme listed. In many cases - such as the example of stamp duty relief - it is the Department of Finance that needs persuasion to grasp the concept of what it would do by forgoing revenue. Often it is merely a matter of allowing transfers take place, because at present there is no money transferring and no revenue coming in either way. That is the job. Macra na Feirme makes a strong argument for that. It is certainly something the Minister would welcome when he makes his case to the Department of Finance.