Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I agree with the Deputy. There are vulnerable persons in rural Ireland on farms, the sizes of which do not allow them to expand and grow and increase their income from farming activity. We all have a responsibility to keep them on the land. I am not a Minister who will impose policies purely on the basis of economics and solely focus on the efficiency of food production in making decisions. While we need to increase the efficiency of food production and improve the skills set of farmers, we also need to recognise that unless we support farming in certain regions under the schemes in place, people will simply leave the land. That has happened in other parts of the world as supports have been done away with. That is not the environment we want to create in rural Ireland.

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