Ms Rose Mary McDonagh:

I thank the Deputy very much for his comments on the whole issue. They are very welcome. It is great to see consensus among everybody here and we are all singing off the same hymn sheet. Many points have been made but I will make one point on rural Ireland and the rural economy and the taxes that are proposed in the commission. Some comments were made about intergenerational renewal changes or that zoned residential land tax that is being talked about, and the impact that would have on family farms and on passing it on to the next generation and on the local economy. There would be a spin-off. As we said earlier, for every €1 spent, there is something like €4 put back in the local economy. All of the shops in villages and towns around the country depend on agriculture. It is the backbone of the Irish economy. Also, from the point of view of food security, the food has to be produced somewhere. Where is it going to be produced? Are we not as well off to produce it here in Ireland where we have a grass-based system? That goes back then to the sustainability of rural Ireland. It needs to be sustainable. The families need to be able to make a living and continue to live in and sustain rural Ireland. We do not want to turn our backs on them.