Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Deputy Ryan, for your views. I would not agree with all of them but you are entitled to them.

Generational renewal is a huge issue that is going to affect us all. We had the European Court of Auditors before our committee discussing two reports it produced, one of them on the young farmer and the other on the rural development programme. A startling statistic is that 1,000 farmers a week are leaving farming in Europe. This is not an Irish issue. It is happening throughout Europe. By 2040, which is only 20 years away, there are going to be very few farmers around. It is a huge issue that we have to address. The other issue, which I believe was mentioned in the presentations by some of the groups, is one that is going to come up time and again, especially in view of the CAP negotiations, namely, the active farmer. Who is an active farmer? What is the definition of an "active farmer"? There is a huge issue around that.

I will go to Mr. Condon first.