Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commissioner for attending. I have no doubt he is firmly in our corner with regard to CAP. I remember saying in the Dáil two years ago that this was the real hole in the bucket. We are looking at other matters such as trade but the contribution of the British to the CAP budget - at a little over €12 billion - will certainly be a huge issue. I have no doubt that the Commissioner is fully aware and will be advocating but we must be honest with people. We must bring some big hitters along like the Dutch and the Danes and get them on board because unanimity is required. Of course, the Irish Government has already indicated its position. We pay over €400 million into CAP. Another 1.1% would bring that up by a further €40 million, €50 million or €60 million and things would still be very good for us here. We can explain to taxpayers why the increase is necessary. That is no problem but we have to bring everybody else along. I have no doubt that the Government and our bureaucrats will play their role but we have to bring everybody else along because they have to be convinced. Those to whom I refer must, in turn, convince their consumers and the public at large in their jurisdictions so let us not say that we can go in with a big stick. It will take a lot of very purposeful negotiation to ensure that this will happen and that the budget will be increased. As the Commissioner said, there are only two places to get this money - one is from here and the other is from other member states.

One of the issues I have come across in recent days relates to a concern in respect of which, perhaps, the farming organisations have not advocated as much as should have been the case. I will advocate what Macra na Feirme has advocated for. In recent times, significant concern has been expressed by many stakeholders about young farmers and the concept of generational renewal. There is an issue with structural supports for young farmers. The moment this is mentioned, people say that they do not want any straight lines, cuts or anything else. In such circumstances, let us be clear: we cannot swing on both sides. We must come down somewhere in the middle and that is the way I go in political life. We need to increase the maximum level of funding beyond 2% and focus on reducing additional barriers to young farmers such as those relating to access to capital, lack of business skills and insufficient succession plans. To what extent does the Commission propose to protect the family farm structure? There has been a trend away from doing so in recent years. Will the Commission explore a long-term strategy for generational renewal, which is very important? What incentives are under consideration to incentivise greater involvement in agriculture on the part of young people? I was at Punchestown yesterday and two farmers and an auctioneer told me that this is the big issue and that nobody is talking about it. I was amazed. The number of people under 35 who are going into farming is dropping drastically. It is not just dropping in Ireland. According to the European Court of Auditors, it decreased from 3.3 million in 2005 to 2.3 million in 2013. The number of hectares held by young farmers has fallen from 57.7 million across Europe in 2005 to 51 million. That is a drop of over 6 million. There will be nothing for the future if we do not sort this out.

The EU negotiators are fully aware of the importance of the equine sector, particularly in the context of the horse racing and horse breeding industries, to Ireland's rural economy. Will the Commissioner take account of the current position of free movement of thoroughbreds between Ireland, Great Britain and France? A tripartite agreement is in place between the Ministers with responsibility for agriculture in the three countries. We must remember that 80% of Ireland's exports of thoroughbreds are to the UK. The Commissioner can, therefore, readily appreciate the importance of the role of trade in the Brexit negotiations, particularly in the context of this vital industry. We should not lose sight of that fact.