Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been involved with farming organisations down through the years. Coming up to CAP negotiations, I have always considered the smaller farmer, the farmer who is finding it hard to survive. Quite a lot of farmers will say they are finding it hard to survive but the smaller ones certainly are.

I listened to Mr. Kelleher speaking along the lines of what I have been saying for years. Many farmers get less than €10,000 in farm payments and are barely able to survive. There are CAP negotiations, with much promise, but farmers will gain about €200 or €300 in payments. We have to work towards a system whereby any farmer earning less than €10,000 will have their payments brought up to €10,000, while anyone earning more than that should be fully protected. The sum of €10,000 is small money for survival on a family farm and to try to rear a family on a farm. There was much discussion prior to the election that the new rates should be nothing less than €10,000, but now it looks as if it will be €4,700 in new rates. It will be an appalling position for farmers to find themselves in if they have to pay for a farm planner and whatever other payments from that sum. It will be hardly worth applying for. There is talk of €11 million being moved from the east to the west, which will affect parts of my home county of Cork.

I would like to hear much more from farming organisations this year about the survival of the small family farm and about where the payments should be focused going forward. Those who are receiving massive payments need to come down to some kind of a fair level. I understand they have significant costs too and I respect that, but the survival of the small man and woman on the farm certainly needs to be a greater focus for us going forward in the context of the new CAP. I am interested in hearing from the organisations and I thank their representatives for attending but we need to put a greater focus on that issue.