Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, webinar which focused primarily on women's health issues. One of the topics discussed was endometriosis. Senators will be aware that I have consistently raised this issue in the Seanad. I was very happy to play my part in bringing about an information session to bring to hundreds of GPs from throughout the country the most up-to-date information on this disease from an expert in the UK. The event went very well and I commend and congratulate the ICGP on arranging the webinar, bringing up-to-date information to GPs and helping us to take one step closer to having better menstrual and reproductive care for women and girls in this country.

I will briefly comment on the ongoing Common Agricultural policy, CAP, negotiations. I commend the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, on his engagement in the process. It has been difficult as there are a great number of competing interests and there is not, unfortunately, a uniform voice across the farming organisations. I come from a rural constituency, Mayo, where farm holdings are mainly small. Farmers in my community are asking for front-loaded payments, a higher degree of convergence and a cap on the single farm payment. No farmer should be receiving more than €60,000 annually from that scheme.

I welcome that convergence is to be set at 85%, with the option for member states to increase beyond that if they so wish. I urge the Minister to consider that option of increasing the percentage further.

I also welcome that 3% of direct payments will be set aside for young farmers. A particular problem in this country is that young people do not view farming as a viable long-term career option because of the challenge farmers face in getting a fair price for their product and all of the demands we are placing on them, arising from climate change and everything else.

The proposed agreement will have to be signed off by all the EU agricultural ministers. There will also be a period of consultation and debate to consider what has been proposed. All in all, we are progressing towards a fairer outcome for small and medium-sized farmers, while still acknowledging and rewarding productive farmers.

There is much anticipation that we will see a delay in reopening, with a decision due possibly tomorrow at this rate. I make a special plea for those who are having their weddings in the next couple of weeks. I can understand the delay in reopening hospitality. While I may not fully agree with it, I can see the argument for doing so in terms of the sheer numbers. The small number of couples who are getting married in the two-week period in question have probably had to postpone their big day numerous times already and will have issued invitations, paid a deposit and made plans on foot of the plan we set out for them. In the event that the rug is pulled from under them for a couple of weeks, I urge the Government to take a flexible approach and rather than issuing a blanket delay to all aspects of the planned reopening, I ask that it consider each element on its merits and give special consideration to couples who are looking forward to their big day in the next number of weeks. They should be allowed to have the 50 guests we promised they could have.