Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Three weeks ago, in Athlone, I met senior people from the Minister's Department but they have not liaised with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. If I have land that is not designated and I am involved in organic farming, I get the same priority as if all my land is designated. I know the Minister is from a farming background and most of us understand the scenario. If we draw a straight line from Cork to Donegal and consider the designations in that area, we are driving families out of their farms because of lunacy and rules imposed on people. These designations have been brought in by civil servants, not by the farmers. The farmers did not write to the Minister looking for them. Family farms and families are being driven out by rules and regulations that need to be addressed.

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