Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner. Many of the issues have been covered here already and earlier in the Seanad. The issue of inspections is an important concern for farmers. Nobody knows better than I of this because I underwent an EU audit ten years or more ago. When a person sees 13 or 14 officials arriving from Brussels in suits it is no wonder he would be fearful he would lose his shirt. Thankfully that did not happen.

Significant and much needed progress has been made on land eligibility over the past months. We in Leitrim or in the north west did not grow much sugar beet, but we were able to use the beet tops and the left over beet for feed. This was a cheap source of feed and I believe it would be useful if we could re-establish the beet industry. The Leader element of the rural development programme is important. As the Commissioner knows from having visited the north west, people and communities are now benefitting from many of the projects that were funded through those programmes and the moneys spent on them.

Another issue of concern is the issue of young farmers. The Chairmen referred to them as being in limbo and we have approximately 3,800 of these farmers. When we look at their situation on a case, by case basis, some of them have entitlements and will be okay, but quite a number of them have no entitlements. It is vital these farmers can continue farming. However, I understand this is probably an issue we must deal with ourselves.