Ms Elaine Houlihan:

The answer is "Yes"; it is causing issues around morale. I suppose it is disheartening to see that many people cannot see a future in our sector of agriculture. Everybody wants a future. We want a future in our sector. The committee saw that last April when we literally walked to Government Buildings to highlight it. The Deputy is right to use the word "uncertainty" because there is constant uncertainty in this sector. If you ask those in their mid-20s what they want to do after they finish agricultural college, they are nearly wondering whether to do a masters or get on a flight to Australia or Canada. It is hard to see a future in the sector, especially with the derogation. It is hard to get land due to increased costs, etc. It is a lot to burden somebody with at a young age. It is causing morale issues for our generation, but also for parents. They know they do not want to put that debt hanging over their child. They have been through that. They can see now that the future might not be there for their son or daughter to take on the farm. I am sure that is not an easy decision for any parent. I will ask Dr. Hanrahan to come in on this point if he has anything to add, but the overall morale is low.