Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

The proposals published yesterday are of serious concern for farmers. Therefore, I welcome the Minister's assurances today in regard to his objectives. I hope his key priority will be to ensure the Food Harvest 2020 targets are achieved. Farming is a major enterprise in this country and a huge driver of the economy. Some 60% of Irish manufactured exports were derived from agriculture with a value of approximately €8 billion in 2010. The objective in Food Harvest 2020 is to increase that figure to approximately €12 billion by 2020. That is a huge driver of our economy and in terms of retention of jobs and job creation. The sector supports approximately 300,000 jobs and we want to see an increase in that number to ensure that this sector, which is key to the economy's recovery, prospers further.

It is important to remember that even though the sector has increased considerably in recent years, farm incomes remain particularly low. The 2010 figure is in the region of €18,000 which is half the average industrial wage. This year there was an 11% increase in farm assist payments to farmers. While farming has improved in the past two years, farm families continue to experience serious difficulties in terms of income derived from farming.

Another area I hope the Minister will give priority to is the age profile of the farming community. Approximately 25% of farmers are over 65 years of age and only about 7% are under 35. That is the current position and it appears to be endemic in farming. We must seriously consider how that can be changed because if farming is to prosper and contribute to the economy, and to the local economy, we have to have young people seriously involved in farming. The current position has pertained for a number of years but it is an area we must focus on and if tax changes need to be made to ensure that farms are transferred at an earlier age to younger people that should be examined.

Farming has contributed a great deal to job creation with 300,000 people currently depending on farming. With the expansion of the world population there is a huge opportunity to create further jobs both directly in farming and in downstream employment. I hope the Minister will prioritise that area.

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