Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister of State clarify this particular issue? Obviously, there is an EU issue in regard to farm buildings. This only applies to farm buildings and not to buildings which are habitable, which are excluded from it. We are talking purely about farm buildings. It may make sense, as part of that restructuring, to exchange or transfer the ownership of the home yard, where one has farm buildings. The proposed rules would not include the relief.

Sadly over the past few years, farmers invested massively in slatted sheds, encouraged by the Department of Finance and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Many have huge financial charges placed on their farming operations currently. In some cases, they built these sheds on out farms. These farmers may have an opportunity to purchase land closer to them and if they sell the out farm with the shed on it, they will not get the relief in regard to the shed. That may not make it financially possibly for them to do so.

This issue of out buildings will probably not be a massive issue in the Chairman's part of the country but in my part-----