Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

I am amazed when I hear what people such as the Minister and Senator Callanan say about this matter. They are far removed from the reality of what is happening in agriculture with the ordinary farmer. The land is worth nothing to the ordinary farmer if he is to continue as a farmer. He farms the land and its value is handed down from one generation to another. To the majority of farmers I speak about, the value of their land is insignificant in the context of this proposal. What is significant is what they must pay to stay on the land.

I am concerned about the farmers who want to stay on the land and raise their families on it. They want to be part of their community. When people speak of the value of people's houses in Dublin 4 being €2 million or €3 million, how does that affect their work or daily life? The Minister and Senator Callanan should join the real world. The value of the farmer's property does not apply. If he or she wants to stay on the land, he or she must farm it and hand it on to his or her son or whoever is next in line.

To return to this Bill, most farmers have paid enormous interest rates over the years and have paid significant amounts of money off what they owe. The precedent for the previous proposal was 50%. I propose that the least we should do is follow precedent and set the annuities at 50% rather than the 75% mentioned in the Bill.