Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 13, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: "(c) The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report on welfare measures which can support land mobility and environmental sustainability.".

I flagged this amendment on Second Stage. I am using this as a vehicle to raise the issue. I hope the Minister can consider it. I accept it is not good practice to include reports in primary legislation but it is the only mechanism available to us. Section 20 of the Bill makes provision for income disregards for farm schemes. We all welcome this. It is very constructive. The objective behind it is to try to encourage farmers to participate in the various farm schemes. The list is being updated in the legislation before us. We want to try to see low-income farmers supplement their income but take on board environmental measures that not only benefit their farms but also benefit our water quality, the environment generally and reduce our overall emissions profile. As the Minister knows better than most, in our part of the country the age profile of suckler farmers, in particular, and beef farmers is quite high. If we are going to bring about innovation and reduce the overall carbon footprint of this sector of agriculture, it will only happen if we can significantly reduce the age profile of these farmers and encourage younger farmers into agriculture to get access to the land and carry out the type of measures and alteration of farm practices that will reduce the carbon footprint of those farms.

I accept that under the social welfare code where a son or daughter of the retiring farmer continues the practice of farming there is no issue. The difficulty arises, as the Minister and I both know, with farmers who do not have a son or daughter and who are leasing out the land. They are left with a dilemma. If they lease out the farm and have a stranger come in and work their farm where they have no control over it, every cent generated in the farm lease is deducted from the non-contributory old age pension. There is absolutely no incentive for farmers in receipt of the non-contributory old age pension, who do not have a successor, to lease out the land. We all know what they do. They continue to slobber along doing what they have always done and what was done by their parents before them and the generation before that. This is having an impact on the overall emissions profile of our suckler herd throughout the country and on reducing the carbon efficiency of the herd.

I want the Minister to look at this particular cohort of older farmers and see whether we can put some incentive in place for them to lease out their land. If farmers go into various agricultural schemes, there is a disregard. If farmers were to go out and work, there is a €200 disregard for them. However, if they lease the land to a young progressive farmer, whereby we would reduce the carbon footprint of that farm holding, we are saying that we will give them no credit whatsoever. There is something wrong in a system that does not give some acknowledgement for this. In fairness, the social welfare code recognises the need to encourage farmers to improve their carbon efficiency profile and improve environmental sustainability. It is set out in section 20.

I ask the Minister to look at the issue of leasing land whereby some encouragement would be given. I accept she will not waive the full value of it. I am not asking that the full value of it be waived. However, perhaps a proportion could be waived, such as half of the disregard for someone out working. Even if it were a disregard of €100 a week at least it would be some incentive to encourage people to lease the land and improve the emissions profile of the holding. I hope the Minister can ask the officials to look at this. I do not think a huge cohort of people is involved. It would make a significant difference to the emissions profile of our overall suckler herd.

See this speech in context