Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the officials from the Department, Mr. Healy and the other representatives of the IFA in attendance. As we are all well aware, this matter has been ongoing for several years. I call the fair deal scheme for farmers the lousiest deal in the world. They are being militated against and a bush has been put in their way to access the fair deal. So much wrong has been done to them that it is unbelievable it is happening in a democratic country such as Ireland, and that it is being allowed to continue.

I call it a debacle. We thought we had brought it to a head in July 2018. Our Rural Independent Group, of which the Chairman is a member, called a vote in the Chamber on the matter at the time. The Government and its supporters voted against it and Fianna Fáil abstained, but I am glad to say Sinn Féin and small groupings of parties ensured that we had a majority and the Government would have to address it. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, seemed to be receptive but it is clear that other forces within the Government are resisting it. The finance of the fair deal scheme, for this year alone, has been under threat. People qualified for the scheme and submitted their application but were then told they would have to wait until funding became available. It is clear that what is happening is the funding is not available for the fair deal scheme and, therefore, the crowd will block it or try to extract as much as they can from farmers. It is ridiculous.

We had a notion that a three-year cap would be put in place for farmers accessing the scheme. The position that obtains, whereby the applicant must pay 7.5% of his or her assets, applies in cases where he or she is the sole owner of the farm. In rural Ireland, it may be that one person owns the farm even though he or she is married, or in a couple or whatever, and it is often the case that the other person's name is not on the farm. A figure of 7.5% is charged, which, multiplied by five in the case of a €500,000 farm, is €37,500, although, as Mr. Healy will be aware, one would not buy much of a farm for €500,000 in today's world. A young farmer, who might be a woman or man trying to continue on his or her own, will be liable for that payment each year. That is totally unfair and undemocratic. In the case of everyone else in the country, if he or she has a house, it is only the value of the house that will be assessed for the scheme.

I met a man in west Cork a few months ago who had just bought a farm. We all know that one must increase production even to stand still in respect of one's income. The farm's value will be taken into consideration. The man's wife has motor neurone disease. She accompanied him to a wedding I attended. She did not know exactly where she was but she was able to move around. The man told me that in six months, she would have to move to a nursing home. They have a young family and he will have to contend with that.

That is what is being doled out. It is a matter of like it or lump it, and one must pay the rate of 7.5% for as many years as possible, until someone caves in somewhere and agrees to the cap. One matter the IFA may not have pushed hard enough, which I resent, is that the full value of the farm is assessed but it should not be. It is very unfair. In most other instances, only the family home is assessed. Someone suggested that farms be passed on in good time but when is a good time? People get sick when they are 30 years old, in their mid-20s or when they are 40. Should one pass on the farm 20 years early? Most people believe they should retire in their mid or late 60s. Should people hand over their farm before they turn 40 years of age? That is ridiculous to entertain. The matter is simple. The Government can keep putting bushes in the gap and say farmers cannot qualify if they will not farm the land for six years after the owner has gone into care or has accessed the fair deal scheme, or that the person in charge of the farm at the time cannot rent it out. It is ridiculous. Take, for example, a man who is seriously injured. Farming is a physically demanding occupation. If something happens and the man must move to a nursing home, his wife may have a young family who must be minded and she may have to get a part-time job to try to keep food on the table. If she is told she cannot access the fair deal scheme because she leases it out, that should not be entertained. If that is shoved down people's throats, they will not take it because it is just not fair.

I have nothing against Mr. Redmond or any of our guests. I accept that it is a combined effort of the Government, which resists giving farmers a fair deal when they get sick or must access a nursing home. It is a combined effort of the Government and, perhaps, Department officials, although I do not suggest it was the fault of any of our guests. When a chairman or member of a company becomes sick, is the value of all the parts of the company or business taken into account in the same way that a small family farm is hit when someone wants to access the fair deal scheme?

I hope it is not just farmers who are being hit by this. I ask for an answer to my question.