Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief as I know we are caught for time. I thank the Minister of State because we are now where we have wanted to be for a long time. I am disappointed with some of the content of this Bill. There are still anomalies and concerns, particularly surrounding assets, whether they are family farms or other similar assets. I have always said that a family farm should never be looked upon as an asset in a monetary way because all any person who has a farm ever wants to do is to enhance it, use it, try to make a living from it and pass it on to the next generation. I disagree with calling it an asset in a monetary way and saying one fellow's farm is worth a certain amount of money because it is worth nothing unless he is selling it, disposing of it and getting money. That does not happen in Ireland. Anybody who knows anything about land in Ireland knows that the people who are really into their land do not sell it. They will not part with it. They will pass it over when they die but that is the only time it changes hands. Sometimes farmers will pass the land on to the younger generation while the farmer is still alive and that is always nice to see. That is my concern. Couples might potentially get hit in a financially adverse way on a family farm or business asset. That is a worry. I would like the Minister of State to take that on board. I will keep to my promise of being brief.

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