Conor D McGuinness: State siding with landlord in Waterford dispute

This is on the topic of stability and certainty in farm payments and I want to raise the issue of hill farmers on the Knockmill Downs in County Waterford, currently in dispute with a landlord over exorbitant rent increases and I know that the Minister won't intervene but the Department has effectively taken a side in an ongoing dispute here and holding these farmers over the barrel because no farm payments are being issued while the dispute goes on because of the requirement to provide a commonage evidence letter. So this is effectively the State siding with the landlord in this and these farmers they rely on that farm payment, they farm other lands as well as ones that are in dispute and this has echoes of darker times in our history, I believe Minister, where absentee landlords push farmers off the land and I think the Department now needs to take a realistic look at this and where there is a dispute and I understand the limitations on the Minister's ability to intervene in that but where there is a dispute that the Department, if it's going to be neutral, is fully neutral in that dispute and doesn't hold farmers over the barrel looking for this commonage letter while they're already in dispute, go raibh maith agaibh. First of all, I just want to go back to Deputy Kenny's assertions around the changes of the active farmer definition for forestry and back Minister Healy-Rae in saying that you're wrong but it's not just us saying you're wrong, CFA say you're wrong as well in terms of them having come out and very much welcomed the changes and saying how it will help small farmers in terms of forestry and beyond. So look, it's very easy to polarise these issues and you're dead right, I've no doubt I'll be back here disagreeing with you again on other definitions we make but in terms of the next cap, the definition we make around the active farmer will be a pivotal one, it'll impact what we do in generational renewal, it'll impact what we do in a lot of spaces and what we'll have to do is have a fair and honest discussion around all the supports and measures that are in place now, are they delivering what we need them to do and do they act as a barrier in some ways to those who actively want to farm and drive on and the state resources we have are very significant to support farmers along with the European ones but we always have to look back and see are they doing what they say on the tin and are they best delivering on our policy objectives that we want and I look forward to debating those points here as I'm sure if you put a specific question to forestry to Minister Healy-Rae he'd be happy to do as well. Deputy McGuinness, I'm aware of the issues in Waterford in that particular case, it's a bit beyond the scope of this question or beyond but obviously look the role of single farm payments is down to who is the active farmer and in terms of that position on that one and I hope a resolution can be found on that one in the near future. Just the broader point to Deputy Kenney's point around generational renewal and that as well, this is going to be a really challenging debate, Commissioner Hanson's proposals talk about an increase from 3% of the budget to 8%. In the context of an increased budget that would be a really ambitious and a lovely thing to deliver, it's going to be a really hard thing to deliver if we're 20% down in the last budget and where do you cut that money from to deliver into other areas and if that's a mandatory measure again these are things we're trying to work through and have the maximum flexibility that where we have interventions we are sure they're going to deliver that on generational renewal here and that we support all sides of farming.