Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

Having such a small percentage of agricultural land being offered for sale is clearly one of the factors that will influence the price. Leasing the land is one of the options, as the Minister pointed out. The early retirement scheme is now in place and we have had long discussions recently on that. We would like to be assured that any retirement schemes in place will be appropriate to the needs of those people who opt for them.

Does the Minister think that the installation grant, at €9,250, is adequate given the high start up costs for farming? There are other reliefs as well, but the grant still seems a very small amount.

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