Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The issue is not being dealt with. The Minister has set out the terms and conditions of it, but is there a reserve in place? Clearly, there is not and that is the issue we must discuss. A certain amount of money that will be unspent in various categories will come back to the Department and I cannot understand why there is a reluctance to put that to one side. If we are committed to the agriculture sector, we must look at getting new and young farmers in place who will have entitlements. At present, entitlements are not available to them. Will the Minister give a commitment to put the money to one side for the amount of entitlements that would be required? It is not a huge amount, given the number of people throughout the country who need to get this sorted. Will the Minister put that in place now to ensure either returning emigrants or people starting out in farming can have a future? This is really about ensuring they have a future.

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