Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú. I will take the second point on diquat first. The use of diquat has been suspended at EU level. There is ongoing engagement with Teagasc on alternatives and how to use them. I made it clear to farmers last year that this was the route they should take this year.

On maintaining sustainable family farm incomes, that is obviously a key objective in how we frame the next CAP and the impacts it might have. It is not straightforward and certainly not black and white. The objective is to try to support family farm families in every way we can. There must be a clear objective of ensuring that we do not, by our actions, push some farmers who are currently struggling to farm full time into a position where they can only farm part time. We have seen this trend for decades and we must be conscious of it in framing our policies.

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