Mr. Colm O'Donnell:

I will to sum up by thanking the Chair for offering an invitation to the INFHA. I would like to recap on a couple of the issues that came up today. It is worth bearing in mind that under conditionality, all farmers are now required to comply with a basic set of conditions. All farmers have to do this. We are all farming to a set of conditions. It is only fair to think that we would work and continue on the trajectory of going for flattening of payments, to finally bring some fairness, after 20 years, and some equality in respect of how farmers are supported. I mentioned at the start that main general objective is to strengthen the socioeconomic fabric of rural areas. This is vitally important. The Houses of the Oireachtas have a duty of care to ensure that this happens. That is the best way of keeping those small areas vibrant, as well as that social dimension spoken about earlier by a contributor. This is the way to do it. I would say that a front-loaded payment will protect those small farms and high value entitlements with the top-up on the first 15 ha. There is a deliver up to €80 per hectare. Put an end to this gravy train once and for all and cap payments at €60,000, with no labour units allowed. That point was well made by Deputy Fitzmaurice. On the eco-scheme, we need to ensure that we have equal opportunity, equal access and a uniform payment per hectare. This will ensure, if it is done with an incentivisation for entry-level schemes, that there would be no money left behind. The pot is a taxpayers’ pot of money. This proposed 20%, whether it is 20%, 25%, or 30%, is no longer something that is God-given or that belongs to any individual beneficiary. It is taxpayers’ money. We can see now why the budget has not increased. It is because of how greening was seen as a failure and a bad way of distributing funding for the benefit that was expected from environmental ambition. Finally, I would tell the Minister that the 70,000 farmers who would benefit are the majority of farmers in this country, were we to go for full convergence and were we to use the other tools at his disposal. Many of these farmers are farming on a land type that leaves them very productive. They are delivering excellent farm products. However, what about the public goods and the ecosystem services that have never been acknowledged in any previous iteration of CAP?

We need to ensure that "agricultural activity" extends to acknowledge public goods and the delivery of ecosystem services, which are of considerable benefit to this country annually.