Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Adams raised a number of interesting points. Of course, youth unemployment is a scourge. Clearly, that is why the European Council, for the first time ever, put €6 billion into the multi-annual financial framework, MFF. That is spread out from 2014 to 2020, which is of no value to somebody who is 16 or 17 years of age and facing unemployment in any country, be it our own, Spain, Portugal, Greece, etc.

The discussion last week was on whether we could work together on really proactive programmes for young people for training, upskilling, pre-work training, etc. and front load this to make some impact and to give young people a sense of hope and confidence that these things actually work. There was a very strong view about that. This is why it is important for us as the Presidency to view as critical getting the MFF through during this Presidency. If it fails and we end up having to do annual budgets that take up three or four months and on which everyone cannot agree, at least the Council has made its decision.

The European Parliament has to give its imprimatur to the budget, otherwise it cannot function. The European Parliament, which has a very valid case, wants to consider unity of budget, flexibility, own resources and a mid-term review because who knows what the economies of Europe will be like in 2017 or 2018? That is a legitimate aspiration with which we can deal as the Presidency, but we need the support of the Parliament. Elections will be held next year and some sectors are beginning to play games. I hope they can settle down at the trilogues over the next few days and get agreement on this because it would be very important to get it through.

I might say that the draft amending budget - because there is a ceiling on the deficit of €11.2 billion - is an important element of the work we have been doing. The Tánaiste and I went to meet President Barroso and President Schulz and got agreement on that. It was pushed through by the Minister, Deputy Noonan, at ECOFIN for €7.3 billion of a first tranche. We hope to get the draft amending budget and the MFF through by July. Obviously, the Parliament will want to wait until the back end of the year to see what bills come in from the Commission for payment by countries of whatever remains, some €3.9 billion or whatever.

Central to this is youth employment. In our own country, we got an extra €150 million put in for PEACE IV, which impacts, as the Deputy well knows, on young people in sensitive areas in Northern Ireland.

The agriculture discussions are ongoing. They are informal. There is a fundamental principle of productivity. If one decides to pay a flat rate per hectare, whether there is productivity or not, one takes away the motivation and the very high incentive level and the high standards that we have achieved in Ireland. As there is a big divergence of opinion from eastern European countries to more developed countries in our agrisystem, which has an exceptionally high standard, what one does not want is a flat rate payment on a per hectare basis. It takes out that productivity element. For example, if one is running a 400 acre farm and a highly intensive dairy industry with very professional standards and someone is running 400 acres with very little activity, it would not be consistent with good agri practice to equate those levels of payment in the same way. It may well be that the discussions will take some off the very top and put it onto the bottom because reference years are different and new farms move into the system. One must retain the principle of productivity. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is very strong on that.

As to dairy quotas going, there has been movement in the banks because of the purchase of land and arrangements for new leases. If we do not produce extra, then some other country will. This opportunity is there for young farmers who will drive, with a sense of motivation, this end of the industry. That is why there is a backlog in the applications for agri courses and so on. That is why Glanbia put its money where its mouth was in terms of south Kilkenny with a major investment, which will create 2,000 jobs on family farms from Cork up to the Deputy's own constituency. I was very pleased to see last year that Kerry Group made its decision to invest €100 million in Naas, which will become a magnet for new food innovation and research and development for years to come. These are extraordinary developments by Irish companies.

There is a big understanding in the agrisector of what is happening. Yes, the fodder crisis is a difficulty and we will clearly have a problem again next year. I have spoken to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine about this and there will be an intention to run a scheme later this year with extra fertiliser driven to have more grass cut. That farmers must now put in cattle in September-----

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