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

One thing that needs to be said is that a lot of young farmers are looking to do the green certificate at the moment, which is encouraging. I do not think there are even enough spaces and there is a backlog. That is a good thing and is welcome. In my time, when we did the green certificate, I remember you had to be able to show one labour unit. That is a while ago, my hair will show you that, no more than the Vice Chair himself. We had to get one labour unit, which on small farms down the country was nearly impossible. Are the witnesses satisfied with what a young farmer gets to start off with at the moment? There is the 60% in the targeted agriculture modernisation schemes, TAMS, and the single farm payment they get along with the top-up. I heard Mr. Keane speaking when the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, was being negotiated about something coming in that would be like giving a loan to young farmers. That was being discussed in Europe. Can he bring me up to speed on that? How satisfied is Macra na Feirme in this regard? My own opinion, and I will give it straight, is that what the young farmer gets starting off in the grant system is not too bad compared with our day, when we were out there. However, they need a kick-start in the form of a lump sum or even a really low-interest loan to help them get going. This is because while you might get land, it might be run down and might need a bit of investment to get going. While it is great to get the 60%, you might not have the wherewithal to get the 40%. What happened in Europe with that proposal? I also would like a comment on something we are following up. We have been told that the old young farmer is coming in next year for those people, the forgotten farmer as we will call them. Where is that proposal at the moment?