Mr. Thomas Duffy:

Not only has the land mobility service been exceptionally well received, it is the extent to which many other member states are coming to Ireland to learn exactly how we succeeded with it. I would like to put on record the incredible work of Austin Finn, who is the lead facilitator in that role, and highlight the support we received from sponsors and co-ops to establish the service, including seed funding from FBD early on. There are two elements to this. One is the consideration for the entire EU to look at this as a system. We engaged with groups such as UK Young Farmers, prior to Brexit, which was trying to roll-out a similar model while facing challenges which were unique to themselves. It will have to be adapted and changed to each country. Specifically for Ireland we have a clear ask, namely, that there be continued funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine - which has been supportive of the service from the very beginning - and to move away from annual support to the entire term of the new CAP, directly supporting the land mobility service under the CAP strategic plan. We have seen this grow very significantly over time. I will ask Mr. Dillon or Mr. Duggan to cover some of the key figures around the number of partnerships and arrangements that have been put in place.

On smaller farm holdings and the challenge in that regard, we mentioned this in our opening statement but, unfortunately, the amount of detailed evidence on which we are working is very limited in the context of what interventions have been successful. The EU's recommendations are still based on 2016, as are its assessments when we know that there have been very significant changes since then such as the young farmers top-ups and the taxation supports we have had in Ireland. Our best figures for the challenges of young farmers entering the different enterprises come from the national farm sustainability report, which is compiled by Teagasc. That report shows a very clear delineation. Sheep and beef farms are significantly higher as a percentage of those who are more than 60 years in the enterprise. Currently, there are no strict proposals which state that a retirement scheme would be introduced under the CAP. There are rules in member states such as Finland where you cannot receive single farm payment and a pension at the same time. There is very little appetite in Ireland and among young farmers, with whom we have discussed this, for such as scheme to be introduced. The best supporting mechanism may be through the tax code. That is something that we are working on with the Department, trying to identify potential taxation reliefs that would facilitate farmers who are willing and interested. The likes of land-leasing taxation reliefs have been significant in allowing farmers to take a step back. That is the only aspect that we can at the moment.

The Senator mentioned geographical spread. Looking across the country, there is a very clear geographic issue with land fragmentation and farm viability. It is not simply that many farms do not have the total land needed to become viable without external economic input in the form of a part-time job, it is also that a large number are simply too fragmented to become viable. That is something that we, through the Land Mobility Service, have been working on and have had very significant success in trying to assist farmers. The taxation measures which would allow the sale of land without the tax implication to allow farm consolidation is quite significant.