Mr. Tim Cullinan:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak. Senator Paul Daly has mentioned a number of issues, including the genuine farmer, capping and convergence. Regarding the genuine farmer, it is very clear and absolutely essential that this CAP reform ensures money goes to the people doing the work and who are out ploughing the fields. That is paramount. We are strongly of that view in the association.

On capping, what obviously has to be included is farmers' income. If farmers are leasing in entitlements, that has to be included as well. On convergence, we are clear. We strongly believe that we cannot take money from one farmer and give it to another. As we all know, the main problem is the entire budget. The overall budget has not been increasing with inflation. We have to deal with the budgets as they are but we have to lean on the Pillar 2 schemes, which are the schemes the Government can deal with. The budget of €2.4 billion agreed in Pillar 2 can be co-funded, by up to 57%, by national governments. That is critically important. It is more important that the €1.5 billion coming from the carbon tax, agreed in the programme for Government, and agreed by all governments currently in power, is ring-fenced for a proper environmental scheme. That is absolutely critical and essential and needs to happen going forward.

On the soils high or rich in carbon, it is very important to state that those lands have been farmed for generations. We want to ensure that continues going forward as well. We cannot have restrictions put on farmers for what they have been doing for generations and that needs to continue long into the future. Somewhere in the region of 300,000 ha. are in the high carbon soil category. I want to make it clear to the committee that we do not want restrictions on farmers on those soils in the future.