Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber.

Coming from a rural part of Donegal, east Donegal, which traditionally was a strong farming area, I was always aware of the importance of farming. When I set up my own insurance business, I always knew that when farmers were doing well, everyone was doing well. Farming is so important to the local economy. My experience was that farmers usually spent the money locally and agriculture was one of the wealth generating areas of the economy in an area like Donegal. Europe, if it had its way, probably would want Ireland to be one big garden and not have the bother of having farmers in Ireland. They would rather have them based in large European farms.

We are fortunate that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, was taking over the Presidency when the CAP was being negotiated. People do appreciate it but they must realise the work he put into it, the input he makes and his knowledge of farming, the agrifood sector and the range of agriculture. It was important that we had him there at the right time, for instance, on issues such as the top-ups for under 35s. Only 6% of farmers throughout Europe are under 35. People might see it as good that people have moved away from agriculture but in Ireland we can specialise. We have the terrain and the expertise and we have marketed our food well. By having Deputy Coveney at the negotiating table, it was important for the future of agriculture in Ireland. If Lithuania had held the Presidency at the time, it may have had a different attitude to CAP. The policy has been negotiated in a fair manner. Given €1.5 billion is coming into the country annually, it is so important for local economies that are so dependent on welfare, farming or public service jobs. The cities, such as Dublin, Cork and Galway, are different where there are financial services and other sectors. For rural areas and the country as a whole, agriculture has provided the stable income for many communities.

Over the past 30 years, farmers have become much more environmentally friendly. The Minister probably will be aware, even though he is much younger than I am, of how farms were kept years ago compared to now.

Nearly all Irish farmers have a very respectful knowledge of the environment and complied very well with regulations, even though some might have had to be nudged in that direction. It is a win-win. Current agricultural practice in this country has come a long way from that in the last century, when farms were perhaps not as well maintained. However, that was not the fault of the farmers concerned but was probably due to the fact that not enough of them were going to education colleges. The future depends on young farmers continuing in farming and, perhaps, making their own niche within certain areas of the market. Ireland has a massive opportunity to market itself. It has a worldwide image of having a clean food industry and I hope the CAP will encourage more farmers to bring their families into the industry and maintain it into the future.

I am not patronising the Minister, but we were fortunate that he was at the negotiating table at a very crucial time in the negotiations on the future of farming. I am sure previous Ministers, Governments and officials would say that when it comes to farming, all parties are as one. We are up against the European Union at times, but on this occasion it was positive and long may it last.