Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the officials for coming in. The CAP was brought in to subsidise the price of food. Why are all these different parts being put onto it which put more onerous conditions on farmers? I am asking questions one by one. My second question is on a document from the European Commission. It is clearly stated in five parts of the document that under the GAEC 2 this is a derogation for member states to apply. That is stated by the Commission. Why then is the Department calling it an amendment? It was highlighted earlier but at the end, under a derogation, is it not very clear that a minister applies for that? If there is a minister who is opposed to letting farmers work in those areas where they had been farming it is entirely up to that minister.

After 25 years of CAP, why are we now going down a road whereby some farmers in this country are being differentiated based on whether they have mineral soils or peat soils? Can the officials answer that? On top of that, in the document, it states that where a farmer would not be able to clean drains or carry out works, this sort of backdoor job would be operating. Do the officials envisage that farmers with peaty soils will be stopped from doing certain works? What vision does the Department have for what we will call the boggy or peaty soils, especially in the mountains?

Over the coming years, if we go into Pillar 2, is the Department signing up along with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to the 2030 target whereby 30% of our country will be designated and some of it will be strictly protected? One will not get that on State land. Are the officials working with that Department to pencil in areas which may be suitable for this? When farmers go into Pillar 2, be it an environmental scheme or other eco schemes or another type of scheme which is brought out, if they put land into a habitat or biodiversity, will the officials guarantee that that farmer will be able to go in with a digger and pull it apart again to make it eligible for what we might call tier 1 now, of being able to apply for a single farm payment? I ask because obviously under this proposed new system there is going to be a two-tier system. I ask that the officials answer those questions one by one.