Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and the clarity associated with it. It is imperative in light of the reaction by some to what was agreed this week that the Government clearly state in this House that any scheme will be voluntary, we can meet our commitment from State lands, anybody who does not participate will not be impacted in respect of their single farm payment, and this funding will be separate from CAP. I note that the funding is in place from the climate fund and nature fund, as was committed to in the budget last year, and that there is a commitment on the part of the EU.

On sustainable farming and initiatives such as this, we need to move away from the metric of income forgone and costs incurred. You get your costs but you have to be rewarded for the initiative you are taking. There is a gain on the part of nature, society and sustainable farming. We can and will, no doubt, retain our status and standing. We are conscious that the move is to sustainability. Investment funds and capital programmes are all geared towards models that are sustainable. For us to retain our status and enhance it, we have to move in that direction. However, we cannot move ahead of the farming community, the farming sector or those who produce the quality of food we have. We have to bring them with us and invest in them. We have to put that investment first, not on a costs incurred metric but on the basis of costs incurred plus a reward mechanism, to show we are capable of acknowledging the investment they are making. They need to be rewarded for it because the gain is many generations down the road.

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