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

There could be a situation where the person who has inherited the rights to the commonage but never activates them could make an income by renting the commonage out while the young farmer always has to pay the rent and never gets the opportunity to buy. To return to the original point of selling, I would be concerned if he was renting for a number of years but eventually had to get an option to buy. The general premise of the more active farmer is the one we need to protect irrespective of the quality of the land. I would be concerned if there was a long-term system of retaining ownership while never reactivating and just renting.