Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives from Macra na Feirme for coming in and giving a very comprehensive presentation from the young farmers' perspective. The key issue when we come to sustainability in terms attracting people is the income issue, which Mr. Healy has identified. The dairy sector is moving on and units tend to be larger, and there is significant development there. Obviously there is an issue with debt managing and ensuring debt is sustainable. When we look at our sheep and beef sectors in particular, we have average incomes of €13,000 on beef farms and €15,000 on sheep farms and the vast majority of this net income is CAP payments. How can this be moved to a sustainable and viable situation for farmers to make a career? How does Mr. Healy see that evolving? There is also the fact that so many of those farms are small.

Part-time farming is an option in most cases, and this is something that has to be supported. What future does Mr. Healy see for young trained farmers in particular making sole careers in farming and what does he see as a viable farm? While we have to ensure we encourage and structure it in a way that encourages young farmers, what is Mr. Healy's consideration for those who are moving on in years but still want to farm? Obviously, the retirement scheme is important. The biggest category of farmers are those aged over 65 and they want to keep doing it. What is his consideration on where he feels they are at? I am interested to hear this.

A couple of speakers have already mentioned tillage. Tillage farms tend to be sizeable enough in scale compared to some other sectors. We have seen incomes in the mid €20,000s and no more than the high €20,000s. Given the level of investment involved, the level of overheads, the absolute importance of the sector to our overall agricultural sector, food miles, indigenous production, which is likely to become a bigger consideration, and consumer demand, does Mr. Healy have further thoughts on how we can shore up the sector to ensure it is sensible and viable for young farmers to continue to make a livelihood in it?

I welcome Mr. Healy and Mr. Dillon and I thank them for attending to discuss this very important matter. I attended a ceremony recently at Gurteen College at which a number of young people were graduating. I was very impressed on a couple of accounts, one of which is the commitment shown by the young people to farming and their determination to succeed in it. I was also impressed by the number of young women who were graduating. I commend Mike Pearson and the team at Gurteen College. It was a very heartening occasions and I was delighted to have had the opportunity to attend.

I completely take on board what Macra na Feirme said about what is required to make farming attractive and to ensure the future of the farm. We really have to move towards thinking about farm holdings as small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs. Farms are now part of the SME sector and many young people who come into farming are doing so with that view. These farms are crucial to the economy of rural areas on many different levels. Mr. Healy referred to attracting people into the sector by telling them about the good quality of life. This aspect is one that many people look for and many of those who work in farming like the quality of life that they enjoy. These individuals like the lifestyle of being farmers. Of course, lifestyle is not enough and income is what will make the latter become a reality for younger people.

Macra na Feirme's findings on precision technology and e-farming are very interesting because there is an enormous amount of creativity and innovation in that sector. Consider the case of Offaly man Niall Austin who lost heifers and cows during the calving season. These losses caused him enormous financial difficulties. He, along with other people, invented and founded Moocall. This sensor is now available in 40 countries internationally. There is lots of innovation in the sector.

I agree that broadband is key to unlocking a lot of the potential, in rural and urban areas. In rural areas, we can see the types of niche and artisan products that can bring additional income into a farm by allowing people to access the market through new technologies and so on. I would not argue with assertion that broadband is key to that.

Macra na Feime conducted a post-2020 member survey and 79% of those who responded said that grant aid should be included in the rural development programme. On the other hand, the survey found that the take-up of the new technology and management systems has been low. I presume this has to do with the age profile of the farmer who may not be particularly interested in moving into that whole new area as he or she may not be au faitwith the Internet. Do the witnesses believe this may be the reason for the low take-up? Has Macra na Feirme used the results of the survey as part of its presentation during submissions on CAP?