Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. On the issue of inspections, there is an element of cautiousness in this regard. Farmers have enough to do nowadays to earn a living without drawing that type of bureaucracy on themselves. A significant element of the debate on the Common Agricultural Policy and decoupling was bureaucracy and red tape. One would need a secretarial assistant to do all the work involved. Inspectors making the visits will have to display some common sense and flexibility. Also, retrospection is a critical issue.

One of the hallmarks of this Administration has been its ability to restore Ireland's reputation internationally, including among the European institutions, not least the Commission. We have done well in several deals, not least the promissory notes deal and renegotiation of the EU-IMF deal. We need to use the muscle we flexed in our dealings with the Commission on those significant, and often thought insurmountable, issues to negotiate with it an ineligible land amnesty. We are dutiful citizens of the European Union. We perform very well in terms of our obligations and duties. We have brought Ireland back from the economic abyss. We have done that despite many of the predictions to the contrary. We need to make our case on an environmental or tourism basis. We can use the strong connection we have with the Commission to negotiate the aforementioned.

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