Unlike the Minister, these farmers are not going away. They should not be penalised for technical or other reasons, such as a strike or work to rule in the public service unions. Failure to pay farmers on time and excessive penalties are driving farmers out of business and frightening young people away from farming. We face difficult CAP reform proposals and Commissioner Fischler has proposed area based payments to replace premium payments. The EU revelation that less than 1% of the total budget is spent on agriculture makes Commissioner Fischler's demands for more cuts sound hollow.