Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be fair, the Department did succeed in addressing the entitlement to treatment from the national reserve for the group referred to as "old young farmers". This is a less clearly defined group. They are the forgotten farmers. They are not a homogenous group; their circumstances vary. Some of them may not even have the fundamental prerequisite of the green certification. It is a challenging issue. We have had discussions with the Commission about it. We did not get a lot of traction on it but we will re-engage with the Commission in the context of the mid-term review. It is challenging. However, even if we get permission in principle to deal with it, how we get entitlements into the national reserve for them is then an issue that must be grappled with. There is not much appetite, particularly in the current climate, to make a linear cut across every single farmer's payment to ensure that these people are looked after, so it is not as simple as the Deputy thinks it is.

See this speech in context