Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his reply. Regardless of the complexity of legislation emanating from Brussels, it is amazing how quickly individuals interpret it in order to identify the difficulties which might arise for them.

The Minister referred to entitlements to single farm payments. I understand that the document published by the European Commission stipulates that an entitlement must be established. The difficulty I perceive in this regard is that some farmers - for family reasons or whatever - leased out their lands to third parties during the period leading up to 2005 or 2006. Thereafter, perhaps as a result of the death of a parent or for some other reason, a son or daughter may have returned to the family holding and begun farming the land in question. However, the entitlements relating to such lands remained with those who leased them during the period 2000 to 2002, inclusive. As a result, a farmer may have submitted a single farm payment application in respect of land of this kind but no entitlement would have been activated in respect of it because no such entitlement existed. What would be the position of such a farmer in respect of the proposed reforms?

There is a second matter about which I am concerned. As a result of the fact that there would have been no perceived financial gain from submitting an application for a single farm payment, a person who returns to take over his or her parents' farm and who bought stock and placed it on the land in 2006, 2007 or 2008 could not have activated an entitlement because no application was made. As per the wording provided in the European Commission's document, those in the two instances to which I refer would not have activated an entitlement in 2011. This assumes that the wording relating to 2011 and 2014 will stand when the negotiations are concluded. There are two groups of people, particularly those with difficult family circumstances, who would not be included under the Commission wording. Is there anything that can be done for these individuals?

See this speech in context