Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

It is not the only area where the Government has turned its back on the farming community. For example, a self-employed person, regardless of whether he or she is a farmer, is not entitled to the PAYE tax credit which has increased over the past number of years — in this budget by €440 to €3,520. That is discrimination against farm families and the farming community, and of the self-employed. That anomaly increased in the budget.

In tandem with that is the plight of stay-at-home spouses on farms, who are completely ignored in the PRSI system where they are given no recognition. The Minister for Agriculture and Food and the Minister for Social and Family Affairs have paid lip-service to it, but nothing has been done about it.

My final two points are ones on which the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, has gone out on a limb. The first relates to the tax implications of the compulsory purchase of land. He negotiated a deal but the minute he got into Government, he rescinded it. It is a disgrace that farmers who are forced by the State to sell lands have been taxed on the proceeds. I have first-hand knowledge of this because my own family's farm is being divided by the new motorway to the west and they are getting a raw deal.

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