Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach seo inniu fosta. There are already 460 students completing part-time and distance education programmes in Ballyhaise Agricultural College, County Cavan, and there is a commitment that an additional 105 students will start those programmes before the end of 2016. There are 605 students on a waiting list in Ballyhaise Agricultural College to complete these courses. To commence additional new courses, Teagasc would require sanction for temporary education staff on a two year contract basis as the contracts for some of the existing temporary staff are due to expire by the end of 2016. Currently, Teagasc has no commitment from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on education staff for 2017 and, as such, it is unable to plan any further courses at this time until this staffing situation is resolved.

The green certificate qualifies a person as a trained farmer, and that could be in horticulture, agriculture, forestry or equine studies. It is, first and foremost, about education. Having a green certificate is one of the conditions of stamp duty exemption and a transfer of land to a son or a daughter. It also meets the criteria for schemes or grants that may be available from time to time. In other words, it is about incentivising education. It has been hugely successful in educating young farmers in proven farm practices, and in incentivising the succession of farms.

As the Minister of State is aware, the contribution by the agricultural community to the economy of this country is immense. Thousands of jobs depend on it. At the very foundation of its success are the primary producers, the farmers, working the land, milking the cows and growing the crops. We can all see how agriculture has developed and changed over the decades. Our farmers and our agribusiness compete on global markets. Each generation of farmers brings new methods and better ways of doing things. Education and the green cert is central to all of that. I ask the Minister to sanction the funding necessary for the colleges to put the required staff in place to ensure that these very worthwhile courses can commence and be completed without delay.