Dr. Ailish Byrne:

I will address some of the issues raised by Deputy Penrose. All farmers are individuals experiencing different sets of circumstances. Each case is different. We at Ulster Bank take pride in that we visit each individual on his or her farm.

We look at their infrastructure, stock levels etc. This allows us to put in place a tailored solution for the individual farmer.

The repayment capacity of farms is linked with dairy processors and industry stakeholders, looking at long-term outlook for milk price. This is built in to Ulster Bank's repayment capacity calculation for farmers. Repayment capacity is stress tested to ensure farmers can get through periods of volatility. On the €30,000 figure, that is an open statement from Ulster Bank that it will provide that level of unsecured debt for young trained farmers. If an individual has a good track record and has built up equity, Ulster Bank will go beyond this level. Following discussions with Microfinance Ireland, we looked at providing support to the farming sector particularly in terms of arrangements such as share farming and leased land. This is another option for young trained farmers to access additional finance.

The decrease in single farm payments is an issue; it is a fixed figure which will not increase. We use the Department's single farm payment calculator to give a good view on how the single farm payment will move between now and 2020. It is built in to the repayment structure.