Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the excellent work that is being done by our front-line workers in all hospitals and the advancements that we have made in cancer and cardiac treatment, among others. Our hospitals give a first-class service to our population and our front-line workers do great work.

I had occasion to go to Nenagh Hospital last Monday morning. Thankfully, it was only to the minor injuries department. I got a kick from a cow on Sunday evening and my knee was extremely sore. The professionalism and speed with which I was X-rayed and treated shows that Nenagh Hospital is working very efficiently. It could be used more to help UHL. We should look at building a modular unit there to provide permanent step-down beds for UHL. That would help greatly to ease the pressure on UHL in the future. The medical assessment unit in Nenagh that was opened in recent years is working very efficiently and is now operating at full capacity.

I want to mention the proposed changes to the fair deal package in the Bill. It would be very remiss of me not to congratulate my party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on the great work she has done on the fair deal scheme. As a rural TD, this is something I have been seeking for many years. It has long been promised and there were many false dawns regarding the fair deal scheme. Thankfully, it is up and running now. It is hugely important that we have the three-year cap on assets for family farms and businesses.

As a country, farm ownership and land ownership in Ireland is something that is very much in our psyche. The love of the land may be due to how hard we had to fight to get ownership of it after 800 years of occupation by our neighbours, the UK. The attachment to land is ingrained. There are many cases where elderly landowners hold on to ownership of the land to their very last breath, which is their right as they own it. I commend the Minister of State on broadening the scope of the fair deal scheme in respect of successors. I will table an amendment to broaden eligibility even further. Some elderly people are the last of their generation, so they do not have first cousins and they might not even have grandnephews or great-grandnephews. It could be a first cousin once removed or a second cousin who would inherit the land. The purpose of the fair deal scheme was to ensure that the farm would stay in family ownership and would be run by that family going forward. As long as we meet those criteria, I strongly urge the Minister of State to broaden the scope of the Bill. I hope she will look favourably on the amendment I will table and broaden the scope of what can be termed a "successor".

The statistics from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine show that many landowners are elderly. They are in the 70 years plus category and do not have immediate successors. In order for a family farm to continue operating, it is absolutely essential that we broaden the scope of successors in this Bill. Land prices have spiralled in the past 12 to 18 months so the fair deal scheme has never been more important. The reality is that without the three-year cap on the scheme, and allowing an eligible successor to qualify for the fair deal, farms would have to be sold to pay the nursing home bills. We did have doubts about the fair deal scheme for a long time. It is hard to comprehend how families managed to keep the farm together and meet the bills that arose.

While a family farm is worth a lot of money, it is only a vehicle to make a living. There is a saying that you live in poverty and you die a millionaire when you have a farm. That very much rings true today given the very strong prices being paid for farmland. The reality is that a farm is just a vehicle to allow someone to make a living. We all want to pass it on to the next generation and to see the next generation working the land. We hope we can pass it on in a better state than we got it. We also hope the next generation will have the same vision and ambition and be able to pass it on again.

I very much welcome the amendments the Minister of State is bringing forward in the Bill. I will table an amendment to broaden the scope of who can be designated as a successor. That can be fully justified as it would not weaken the concept of the fair deal in any way. The Minister of State has addressed many issues where we ran into problems with people qualifying for the fair deal scheme in cases where land was rented for a period before a succession was put in place. There have been difficulties but she has been very forthcoming in trying to find solutions to all problems where it was clear that the family wanted to keep ownership of the farm and to have one of their own farming the land going forward.

I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I will table an amendment to broaden the scope of who can qualify as a successor so that we can ensure a family farm stays within family ownership, as long as we can show a direct connection to the owner of the land.

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