Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Healy has covered a lot in his summation of the first few questions. His presentation was excellent and one could not find fault with it, if one is in a commercial situation. I am from the northern half of the country. In the northern half of the country and the western seaboard we still have, and we always will have, small family holdings. Mr. Healy mentioned that for proper succession a farm needs to be able to support two families, and we all appreciate that, but there are harsh realities out there for a lot of the smaller holdings, particularly in the suckler sector. Much of what Mr. Healy has spoken about is based on dairy. He mentioned technology such as robotic milking, which is grand for a commercially viable outfit in a position to support two families and make that investment, but what suggestions or proposals does Mr. Healy have for what I call the lost generation? He mentioned transfer and retirement schemes, but take the scenario of a 50 year old couple with the next generation approximately 18 years old and leaving school, with possibly not even one income on the holding they have.

They are probably just surviving with some off-farm income. The day will come when there is a need for succession. How do we avoid loss in that situation, where there is no possibility of buying more land or renting land but the family wants to hold what they have and keep it in the family name? The next generation has an interest in farming and would stay at home in the morning, but it is not financially economically viable. In the interim those in the next generation must do something, and by the time their day comes they are lost to agriculture. It is a major issue out there. I do not have to go any further than myself. If things had gone differently I would have been a farmer, but by the time my day came things had changed so much, with my career taking paths I had never foreseen, that it is not going to happen. I am a prime example.

I know Mr. Healy has no influence with regard to my next point but I would like his opinion on it. Recently, I have come across a couple of situations where there is the possibility of viability but the people in question cannot afford labour while their son goes away to train to be a farmer. He has to go permanently because he is too young to do the course on a part-time basis. How can this gap be bridged? It is a double whammy. There is the possibility of two incomes down the line, but the family cannot afford labour in the meantime because the son is the labour, but it is not a runner for him to go to do his training. What solution would Mr. Healy like to see to this problem? I know it is not his call, but surely it is an issue he has come across in Macra na Feirme.