Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to ask about the proposed environmental scheme under Pillar I. I understand the officials do not have specifics. I am wondering what the general thinking is on such schemes. To what extent does the drive towards more environmentally friendly emissions-friendly farming recognise the realities that on the other hand we want farmers to produce food cheaply with traceability to high standards? Is there a proper interface in this regard? I understood early in this new CAP process that there was a strong environmental and green lobby. We all want to be green, but I wonder is it being grounded in reality - the Department would advocate for that - and how might such a scheme look. There are two ways we can approach living sustainably. One is we cut back and say that we want to live like we lived in the 1950s. The other is to say that in the future we will use new technologies and new thinking because there is no point in telling human beings to stop doing what they are doing. We have to be more clever about how we do it, especially as we are paying farmers to produce this food. There seems to be tensions there where farmers could come out the worse of it, especially if the green lobby is the most dominant.

My other concern is relates to the definition of "genuine farmer". Part-time farmers on marginal lands should be protected. It is an issue I raised with the Commissioner, Mr. Hogan, when he addressed the Seanad. His attitude was that such farmers should be protected because if we do not protect them, we will not have any farming in areas such as the west. Mr. Gleeson flagged concerns about the proposed definition, but I wonder where will it go from here. Is the baseline that we will protect these farmers and that will not be in doubt? If these farmers could get more out of the land, they would and if they could work full-time on the land, they would, but the land does not yield and it does not allow that. They would be in poverty if they did not work outside of the land. We want rural development and we all know the domino effect and the desirability of maintaining people in rural areas, and what it adds beyond economics.