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

I thank Ms McCormack for her presentation. Before I bring in the members, I have a question for her on foot of her reference in her presentation to young farmers. We had representatives of the European Court of Auditors before our committee two months ago. We all know the age profile of the farmer in Ireland is quite high, although it has improved a little in recent years. I understand that 1,000 farmers per day are leaving agriculture within Europe, which is a startling statistic. If that trend continues over a number of years, the agricultural industry will be in serious difficulty. We are no exception to that. As our economy improves, there will probably be more attractive propositions for a young man aged 21, 22 or 23 on leaving college. How do we address that? Ms McCormack has teed around that issue. Is it a perception issue, namely, that farming is not attractive or does it need to be sold in a different way?