Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No wonder farmers are concerned. Deputy Conway-Walsh can only raise those concerns and I can only answer back on numerous occasions in this House, in the media and , at farming organisations' public and private meetings to reassure farmers that this is not a designation. When words like "designation" are used and references to planning are used, as was used earlier, that sets farmers' fear off. The only people who will know a land parcel is GAEC 2 is the farmer and the Department of agriculture. A local planning authority will have no idea of that. It will have no access to that map and will not know that. This does not impact planning. I cannot be any clearer than that in terms of reassurances.

Farmers can split parcels. A natural boundary is needed. It can be done as part of the BISS. An appeal is not needed to do it, but a natural boundary, such as a hedge, ditch, river course or whatever, is needed.

On to Deputy Connolly's point about the impact on small farmers, conditionality is applicable to all farmers regardless of size. However, those with farms of less than 10 ha in total area already exempt from controls and the penalties of conditionality. There will be an appeals mechanism through my Department which farmers can avail of.

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