Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine his views that the targets set out in the Food Harvest Strategy can be achieved by 2020; the effects that the recent budget announcements will have on these targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38928/11]

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 14: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine the targets agreed in Food Harvest 2020; the effect that changes made in Budget 2012 may have on Food Harvest 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38951/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 14 together. This about making Food Harvest 2020 happen and what we are doing to make the ambitious targets a reality. Food Harvest 2020, which I always acknowledge was originally put in place by the previous Government and which I have taken on and intend to implement in full, plans to achieve export targets of €12 billion by 2020, which is a 42% increase on the starting point. It also plans to improve the value added of the sector by €3 billion and increase the value of primary output of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors by €1.5 billion.

In terms of growth, the targets include a 50% in volume increase in the dairy sector between 2015 and 2020, a 40% increase in the value of beef exports, a 50% rise in the pigmeat output, a 20% increase in sheepmeat output and an increase of 78% in aquaculture output. They are all huge growth figures and some of them underestimate what will be achieved by 2020.

Despite all the cutbacks in the budget we have done some strategic things to help us reach our targets, such as tax incentives to encourage farm partnerships so we can try to introduce economies of scale to farming. Farmers could farm collectively with their neighbours and share things such as the costs of machinery and input, slurry storage and grazing management. They could potentially collectively sell their produce and achieve the kind of scale to help them get a better price. They can share skill sets and so on. The partnership model is new and exciting.

We have dramatically reduced stamp duty, to 2%, on all commercial and agricultural land transactions, and to 1% where the transaction either occurs within a family or involves a relative. In addition, we have set aside €5 million for a beef discussion group which will help to upskill beef farmers. We have re-opened the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme,TAMS, in order to provide grant aid to farmers to upgrade farm yards, whether milking machinery, equipment to manage sheep or suckler cattle and so on.

These measures comprise a series of positive, strategic developments which are about improving productivity and encouraging a transfer to a new generation of farmers through the tax system. I have never heard a Budget Statement which included so many mentions of agriculture, agrifood and farming as did last Tuesday's announcement by the Minister for Finance. That is because we are all excited about the potential that exists in the sector. The Food Harvest 2020 targets are achievable if there is proper planning.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Minister on the agricultural aspect of the budget. It is quite an achievement that despite a reduction of some €105 million in the allocation for his Department, there is broad acceptance that the budget included many positive aspects from an agricultural perspective. That deserves recognition. The stamp duty reduction and the retention of the half rate with a sunset clause until the end of 2014 will encourage those who are in the process of making decisions to move forward. In addition, the protection of the 90% agricultural relief and the suckler welfare scheme are very welcome.

I see great merit in encouraging farming partnerships, which offer many positive benefits. However, we must also be cognisant of the pitfalls that may arise in this regard. While such arrangements are no different from any business in some ways, we are all aware of situations where arguments have arisen within families over wills and so on. When land is involved, such matters can get messy. The Minister referred to machinery, but we could end up seeing family homes form part of such arrangements. There may be a role for Teagasc in this regard. Above all, we must ensure that farmers, particularly young farmers, who enter into such partnerships are given adequate advice and that the potential pitfalls are highlighted. It is important that there be an exit strategy. These issues must be given proper consideration and people must understand that life may change in the coming years, thus making a partnership model potentially less beneficial.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Heydon makes a fair point. I am not pretending there is some type of miracle solution to introduce economies of scale into Irish farming. What we are essentially trying to do is to keep intact the family farm ownership structure that prevails in rural areas. I am very wedded to that system; the heartbeat of rural Ireland is family ownership of farms. At the same time, we can improve the business of farming for many people by improving efficiencies and skill sets on farms.

Farming in partnership assists that if it is done properly. It must be a legal partnership without get-out clauses. Partnerships are normally put in place for five or seven years. Anybody entering into a partnership must be cognisant that they are signing up to a significant legal commitment. The positive aspects of that are clear from a commercial point of view, but account must also be taken of any negatives. That is why I am asking Teagasc to put in place several partnership pilot projects next year, with varying levels of partnership integration, so farmers can see them working in a practical way before jumping into a partnership themselves. I am hopeful that the new stock relief measures to encourage farmers to consider partnerships will result in a large number of families sitting around the table and discussing whether they want to go into business with their neighbours in a manner beneficial to all parties.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the taxation measures announced in budget 2012. Does the Minister envisage further specific measures in the budgets for 2013 and 2014 to encourage farming as a career for young people, stimulate land sales and transfers and offer further encouragement regarding enterprise opportunities in farming?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I got almost everything I asked for from the Department of Finance in this budget. The Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, and his team have shown a great willingness to respond to my Department's efforts to make farming more dynamic in terms of the business of farming and the productivity thereof. However, there is always more to do. For example, I would like to see more incentives to consolidate farm land. There was a consolidation relief in place until last summer. Unfortunately, it was little availed of, which was the main reason for its abolition, but it may be reconsidered in the future. We may examine it in the run-up to the Finance Bill.

For next year we will continue to look at the measures currently in place and how they can be further enhanced. The budget has done a significant amount to reshape the system, particularly in terms of reforming the land mobility market in order to get land moving. I often point out that the average field in Ireland is sold once every 400 years, while the average field in France is sold once every 70 years. That is because land remains in the ownership of families in an intergenerational way in Ireland. There is almost an obsession with land ownership. That is an issue we are seeking to address in this budget.

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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There are changes to the qualification criteria for the disadvantaged area scheme in terms of the proviso regarding approximately two sheep per hectare. I support this as a means of ensuring the money goes to genuine farmers rather than hobby farmers. However, there must be some criteria other than simply the numeric capacity of the land. There will be genuine cases of farming families who cannot reach the required stocking levels for the six-month period to which the Minister referred. I ask the Minister to consider putting in place a mechanism to accommodate such people.

As the Minister is about to depart for negotiations in Europe, it would be remiss of me not to wish him and his negotiating team the very best. They have our good wishes and support as they depart.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased the Deputy raised the issue of the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS, which I meant to return to in response to Deputy Moynihan's earlier question. We are building an appeals mechanism into the qualification criteria for DAS in order to take account of cases where there is a genuine reason for a low stocking rate. In such instances, people will be able to appeal a decision and offer an explanation for the low stocking rate. There will be a flexibility there to make an exception in genuine cases. Such circumstances could arise where, for example, there is a death in a family, where somebody is taking over a farm or where freak weather conditions mean that stock cannot be kept on the land for more than three months. In addition, anybody who has a very low stocking rate as a consequence of participation in a commonage framework programme or some other environmental restrictions will retain their payments. In all cases where there are genuine grounds for a reconsideration of a negative decision, there will be recourse to an appeals mechanism. That will be put in place early in the new year. I want to ensure that genuine, practical farmers who are trying to farm in a way that is productive within disadvantaged areas do not lose their payments.

Unfortunately, I must leave now in order to travel to Brussels. I thank Deputy Colreavy for his good wishes in that regard. I followed quota and total allowable catch, TAC, negotiations each December during my time in opposition because I have been interested in fishing for a long time. I always wondered about the adrenalin rush of being a Minister representing a big industry. I am looking forward to that challenge in the next few days and I assure the Deputy we will be in close contact with the industry during that process.