Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He is accepting the spirit of the amendment.

An environmental scheme for disadvantaged areas and hill farmers is important. Will the Minister keep an eye on that one? He is being modest when he claims the proposal for young farmers has been discussed in the negotiations. As far as I know, it was his proposal.

On his recent visit to Ardee, County Louth, the Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner, Mr. Dacian Ciolo?, said we did not have to work on national but on regionalised flat rates. That is not an option for farmers in my area and I hope the Minister will address the issue. Does he believe we will have the maximum flexibility we need? Why are the reform proposals so heavily weighted in favour of a flat rate?

There has been a discussion about productivity and farming. We cannot support armchair farmers at the expense of productive farmers. For Harvest 2020 to be a success, we need to support productive farmers. I congratulate the Minister on his work so far. I have no doubt these reforms will be sorted before we take up the EU Presidency.