Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

A few of them are still sitting on the fence in a number of parties, waiting to see what is the right thing to say. Great credit is due to the Minister and his officials, however. The single payment system is being introduced and I hope the Minister and his officials will take cross-compliance into account and outline how rigorous will be the checks and penalties. Farmers are concerned about those penalties so if an error is made what delay will apply to the annual cheque for farmers? Farmers have taken the new payment system into account and are delighted with the decision that was taken but errors will occasionally be made. In the past, delays arising from administrative errors may have related to a particular section or entitlement, but a problem arises with delaying a single annual payment. If a farmer is audited for some reason, will the audit hold up the single payment to that farmer? Perhaps the Minister of State and his officials could deal with that question.

The single payment scheme will give farmers freedom to farm with a view to obtaining a maximum return in whatever agricultural enterprise they may wish to undertake. Only 50% of total farm incomes now derive solely from farming. This has come about through the present Government enabling farmers' wives and other members of farming families to work in alternative employment for improved incomes and this should be recognised.

Much has been said about the nitrates directive, which is one of the most important issues currently facing farmers. Farmers are concerned about the directive, as public representatives know having met with them and members of the farming organisations. As someone who does a bit of part-time farming, I understand the situation. I recognise what the Ministers of State and the Minister have said in the past about adopting a common sense approach to the nitrates directive. Rules and regulations must be introduced but in some cases such regulations are suited to the position as it may have obtained eight or ten years ago, when there were real problems in certain agricultural sectors. The problems arose from a small number of farmers who were spreading slurry illegally and not taking sufficient care to avoid polluting water courses.

The Environmental Protection Agency's report on the quality of drinking water reflected the excellent quality of surface waters. It also demonstrated an overall compliance with the limits set by the nitrates directive. That is the current situation which is acknowledged by farmers who require clean water for use on their own farms and in their households. They recognise that much of the water supply to group water schemes comes from underground sources known as aquifers. Farmers are best situated to keep such water supplies clean and pure.

Those who draw up the rules and regulations relating to the nitrates directive must ensure that such rules can be operated and that no one will be forced to leave farming due to unrealistic regulations. Farmers are well placed to invest in farming because they continue to develop and modernise, thus raising farm enterprises to high standards. Before being elected to the House, I spent 20 years dealing with farmers all over the country. I saw farmers revamping and modernising their farms every ten years on average and spending substantial sums to do so. Local authorities have taken the interests of farmers on board, as has the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in allowing them to sell sites which allow locals to build in their own area. That money will allow farmers to develop and modernise their farms, which will make their work easier and improve standards.

My county is part of the BMW region and much of it is designated a disadvantaged area. I ask the Minister of State and his officials to consider designating the rest of Laois and Offaly, approximately 25% of the total, as severely disadvantaged. I hope this is examined carefully by the Minister of State and his officials in advance of any further developments, particularly in regard to severely disadvantaged areas which are not in the BMW region.

We should also examine the importance of farming families and households. Some say that people are leaving farming, but that has always been the case. I have seen many farmers who worked seven days a week from the time they took over a dairy farm in their early 20s. When they hit 50 they felt they had given enough to farming, having made a substantial amount of money. They are moving out of farming but there are many young, well-educated farmers with green certs coming into agriculture. The mid-term review will reveal opportunities that will allow young farmers into the industry in the coming years. There will be great opportunities for those coming out of our agricultural colleges.

I compliment the Minister of State on addressing the concerns about rented land. Farmers who had rented substantial amounts of land were adding to their farms and there were concerns about the price of rented land. I acknowledge the work of the Minister and his officials in Brussels to ensure that 50% of a farmer's total landholding in a reference year would be sufficient. That ensures land rental prices will not go through the roof. Those who rented land from armchair farmers and who worked hard to produce from that land will not have to pay exorbitant prices and I compliment the Minister and his officials on a job well done.

Farming was at a crossroads but we have turned the corner. People can now decide on their enterprises and make a good living from farming. I wish the farming organisations well. They have made a valuable contribution in giving us relevant information to use in the debate.