Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The average holding is 31 hectares. Given the contribution of the disadvantaged area payments to overall farm incomes, I cannot accept that the reduced expenditure in 2009 will have the impact some Members claimed it will.

The decision I took on the early retirement and installation aid schemes was to suspend temporarily entry thereto for new entrants and not to abolish them, as some Members have continued to allege. Despite the suspension of the schemes, the Department will still pay €48 million in early retirement pensions in 2009 and €9 million to 600 installation aid applicants. A number of important tax reliefs of specific benefit to the agriculture sector——

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