Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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As Senator Paul Daly said there, the big issue is that farmers feel very aggrieved. The land was burned - they did not burn it, and yet they are the ones we penalise. That is how they see it. While I acknowledge that the administrative penalty has been taken away, I object to the notion that because the land was burned it is not suitable for agricultural activity and they cannot get a payment. The very tiny proportion of people we are talking about feel highly aggrieved that this is happening to them and that they are the ones being punished for it. I just do not see how this land can be taken out of the picture when it is not the farmers' fault at all. If a farmer had something to do with it, fair enough, but when it is not their fault it is just so unfair. It flies in the face of everything we are trying to do to encourage farmers and help them survive. In most cases here, we are talking about farmers in the most marginal of land, that is, mountainous land. It is wrong that we are in a situation where we cannot pay out to farmers in this situation. There has to be some means of re-examining this to come up with some solution. There has to be a solution in this situation. Where the farmer is not responsible, he or she should not have to face this penalty.