Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the Deputy's point. This is a live issue that we will return to in the debate that is under way on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Deputy will know that that is income support made available in return for certain forms of activity. It is more likely to be in that space that the debate he raises will play out. As to whether it would be part of a Brexit response, I am not sure that it would. However, I am happy to debate that with the Deputy and other Members.

We could face a large degree of market disruption, which could happen immediately, and so we need to be careful that we do not try to do too many different things at once. In the event of that kind of shock, my priority would be to look at how we can stabilise incomes and support the parts of our economy that might lose their market access or see it significantly reduced. Given those circumstances, having multiple objectives at the same time might be difficult. However, I agree with the Deputy's broad point on change.

See this speech in context