Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too am delighted to be able to speak today on CAP reform. Like other speakers I compliment the Minister, because his task was not easy. It was a difficult time for him but he had a wonderful family event in the midst of it, which I hope worked out well, and I hope the christening will be wonderful too, whenever he gets around to it.

This is a very important issue which cannot be dealt with glibly or lightly. It is very complex. I welcome the fact that redistribution is on the table and the reference year had to be considered. I come from south Tipperary, from the foot of the county on the Waterford border, where there is a diverse mix of land. We cannot penalise productive farmers for being productive and for investing and helping us to meet our targets. There are also severely disadvantaged areas, such as uplands with sheep and very little else. They are affected by planting on adjoining land and the worry now about the sale of Coillte and straying deer. At one time Coillte did a lot of fencing, but now it fences only until trees reach a certain height and then abandons the fencing. The farmers have a problem with sheep straying in and the damage deer do when roaming the farms.

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