Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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That was a very detailed presentation. Access to land and mobility of land is probably the key to a young fellow starting farming or deciding to stay on the family holding.

As was said, access to land is obviously key for a new entrant to farming.

An increasing amount of land is going into long-term leasing. Does Macra na Feirme have any proposals on how that could be geared towards giving preference to younger farmers? From what I see happening on the ground, I do not see very many young farmers being able to compete for these land leases at present. I see it as a fundamental issue. There are approximately 1,300 to 1,400 long-term leases each year at present, which is significant when we consider the number of farms in the country. The percentage of land going into long-term leases is significant and growing. Do the representatives have any access to land? They talked about the farm, the price land made and the fact that land has increased in price fairly rapidly over the past 12 to 18 months. I would like to get the witnesses' views on long-term leasing. Have they any proposals on how the younger generation will be able to compete?