Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

Although Fine Gael wishes to support the Minister in so far as it can, I am a little concerned about his tactics. He stated that he wishes to reserve his position until specific proposals are made. Would it not be better to be in these negotiations with specific proposals and to have them included in the specific proposals that are to be announced? For example, I imagine the Minister would rule out the third option completely, as it would be devastating for Irish agriculture. Second, with regard to an issue pertaining to attracting young farmers onto the land, I propose including the budget for installation aid and early retirement, which the Government has plundered. It has cancelled the early retirement scheme for new entrants and installation aid has been done away with. Such measures should be more specifically included in the budget for Europe and should form an integral part of European policy. Moreover, rather than being on a 50:50 basis, it should be at least 80:20 in the budget. What has the Minister to say to young people, who are the future lifeblood of agriculture, and active farmers in respect of these schemes? In view of present economic circumstances, would it not be better for them to be funded from Europe and for Ireland to be making specific proposals in this regard?

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