Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine his plans to ensure that Ireland is in a position to fully avail of increased EU support as indicated in the draft common agricultural policy proposals for agricultural research and development and for encouraging younger farmers into the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39058/11]

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The proposals to amend the CAP were published last October and comprise three broad strands relating to pillar 1, direct payment to farmers and pillar 2, rural development and market supports. In the case of rural development the Commission has indicated its intention to focus on certain key areas and this includes support for innovation and young farmers. I am very pleased that these provisions have been included as they provide broad scope for support to these areas. Business start-up aid is proposed for young farmers on the basis of a business plan and rates of support are generous. Higher rates of support are also proposed for young farmers under the investment measure and on-farm investment will be one of my priority areas under the reformed CAP. It is important that we support our young farmers and encourage structural change so we will be looking at the possibilities presented to support young farmers in both the first and second pillars of the CAP.

Aside from the specific CAP reform proposals within the proposed EU budget under the next multi-annual financial framework, €4.5 billion will be made available to support research and innovation on food security, the bio-economy and sustainable agriculture. While it is not fully clear how these funds will be distributed, it is clear there will be a strengthening of the links between research and the activities funded under the CAP. In this regard, Horizon 2020, the successor to the seventh EU framework programme on research and development which is currently being finalised, will address a number of societal challenges, the most relevant being, food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research and the bio-economy.

The Department acts as the national delegate and the national contact point for the current agriculture-related research activities funded under FP7 and will continue to do so until FP7 ends in January 2014. It is likely that the current co-ordinated national support network of which the Department is a party, will be continued for Horizon 2020 to support our research community in leveraging funds from the Horizon 2020 programme. To date, Irish researchers have been very successful in leveraging funding from the FP7 programme under the food, agriculture, fisheries and biotechnology thematic area which is most relevant to the agri-food sector. To date, Ireland has drawn down almost 2% of the available budget. In the last call under FP7, Ireland leveraged €6 million of EU funding to support Irish researchers to develop capacity to support the agri-food sector.

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Sinn Féin would welcome any further supports aimed at increasing participation in agriculture among young people and enhancing research and development activity. We would also welcome the prospect of foreign partnerships, as announced in the budget. We cannot wait for others to suggest alternatives for our consideration. The Department must be proactive and produce a road map setting out the direction in which agriculture should move, the areas we wish to support and the means by which our objectives will be achieved. The greatest risk facing us is that opportunities will be lost. Unless the Government and Oireachtas take a proactive approach and set out a vision and road map, the opportunities will pass us by. We must not spend the moneys that are available on management consultant reports which will not create a single job or, worse still, fail to expend them, which would require us to return them.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy on many issues. As a farmer, I experienced the 1970s and 1980s when Ireland entered mass production. I am trying to get the media to latch on to what we are in a position to achieve by 2015 or 2020. The door is open for Ireland to mass produce safe food. As the Deputy correctly noted, we could lose everything if we do not avail of research opportunities. I toured the Teagasc research centre in Grange, County Meath, yesterday where I was delighted to see so much effort being invested in new research and technology. We were shown an example of an animal which was able, for genetic reasons, to achieve the same weight gain as an identical animal with 20% less feed. Research is being done in Grange and elsewhere and our agricultural colleges are attracting large numbers of students. The Dáil needs to hold a serious debate on the scale of production that could be achieve here as well as the potential for job creation in the agricultural sector, whether in farming, research, dairy and beef equipment, sales, science parks and so forth. The process has started already. When I return home at weekends I often wonder what world I am in because rural life has changed so much. As spray dealers and the owners of hardware stores will tell one, farmers are the only people who are in a position to pay their way at present.

I enjoyed spending an evening in Deputy Colreavy's constituency recently. I saw how young people entering horticulture are receiving an education through a programme that is affiliated to the Sligo Institute of Technology. Some of those leaving our colleges do not know how to hold a shovel and would break its handle rather than use it. It is great, therefore, that the facility in County Leitrim is attached to the institute of technology.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The agriculture sector has been at the forefront of innovative ideas and research and development for years. I refer specifically to work done in the Department, the national advisory training body, ACOT, and Teagasc. As the Minister of State noted, significant research and development is being done at the Teagasc research centres in Grange and Moore Park. We must emphasise to farmers at the farm gate the need to get our food products into new and emerging markets where the population is growing. The mature markets in Europe and so on have almost reached capacity. The real potential for Irish agriculture lies in the emerging markets. For this reason, we must focus our resources to ensure Irish products are sold on these markets.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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We have already taken steps in this regard. The Minister is trying to get people into place in countries where diets are changing with a view to selling our products. New Zealand and other countries are also working hard in the emerging markets. We would also like to have the milk quota problem addressed. I would like the House to debate agriculture for two or three days to help members of the media to realise what is taking place in rural areas.