Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The Deputy makes a valid point. There is also a third group of people affected and this comprises those who have entered farming for the first time. I refer to those who are serious about active farming rather than those who are buying land in order to lease it out and obtain payment in respect of it in the medium term. The people in the third group to which I refer will not have an entitlement in the current year, 2011, but who may well be actively involved in farming in the reference year of 2014. We must facilitate active farmers who are working the land in the context of the choice of any new reference year. That fact is accepted by many of my counterparts in Europe with whom I have discussed this issue. To date, the focus has been on those who have existing leases on land, those who traditionally rented land and those who leased land under the conacre system - either from their neighbours or someone else - over a period of years and the fact that they would have obtained entitlements in respect of such lands. The main concern in this regard relates to the leases in question being broken by their landlords in order that they might maximise their own entitlements. We could not possibly agree to any package whereby those who are actively involved in farming and who are working land in respect of which entitlements should apply would be prevented from obtaining such entitlements.

See this speech in context