The difficulty is we are dealing with farmers who do not have this type of money. They received this payment because it was recognised they were in exceptional difficulties. To give the Minister of State a sense of the amounts involved, in my constituency in County Cavan 133 farmers will be expected to pay back €157,000 and in Monaghan 138 farmers will be expected to pay back €193,000. If they cannot make those payments within 30 days they will be expected to pay a 3% penalty rate. I would like a direct answer to t…

The Minister is running out of places to hide on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. It is getting to the point where he will need to tell us what his position is. He said he is going to carry out a consultation on the CAP strategic plan. I would appreciate if he would outline the format and the timeframe that will take, as well as whether he is willing to put the on record of this House his proposals and his position on further redistribution measures.

I can assure the Minister Sinn Féin's position on these matters is the same across the State. This stands in stark contrast with the Minister’s party. His position was often nuanced, depending on where exactly he was. He has, as he rightly said, fought for flexibility. I have always been sceptical, in that I believe he is using that as a turn of phrase in order to fight against any redistributive measures. I hope he proves me wrong when we see the outcome. I hope that we see further convergence. That will be the te…

-----was for national sovereignty. This is a real opportunity for the Minister to put his money where his mouth is.

Are my eyes deceiving me? Is this place falling down with Fianna Fáil Deputies that I have not been able to notice? I can assure the Minister that attendance at oral questions does not reflect interest in the agreement. I can assure the Minister-----

I can assure the Minister I have attended meetings with the Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, and other farm organisations in almost every constituency. I will tell the Minister that I will not be dubious or duplicitous about this. I know, as the Minister does, if he were honest, the position of every single farm organisation and I will analyse the outworkings of their positions. I know, as the Minister does, where farmers stand on all of these matters. The Minister has been trying to bide his time, but the time is …

-----so that we have an upper limit of a maximum of a €100,000 payment that cannot be breached.

The Minister fought against it. I wanted distribution but he fought against it.

I am just exposing the Minister's hypocrisy------

The Minister went to Europe and fought against the interests of the farmers of Donegal and now he-----

The Minister did not.

When will the Minister introduce it?

On a point of information-----

The problem is that the questions were not answered. This is supposed to be oral questions to the Minister.

The Minister will be aware that the horticulture sector, particularly the mushroom sector, is potentially facing an emergency situation due to peat shortages. Unfortunately, this issue crosses several Departments, but there is a role for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to pull all those Departments together and ensure this situation is resolved before it reaches crisis point.

Herein lies part of the difficulty. As I mentioned, we already have had interactions with the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. The reason I submitted this as a priority question was to appeal to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, as the lead Minister in his Department to recognise that the issue is putting farms at risk. As the Minister of State recognises, mushroom farming makes up a substantial part o…

The problem is that the question was not answered. There are no credible, sustainable alternatives at present. As for research and development, Teagasc has stated that it will take up to a decade before that is available. What is being proposed as the alternative by Ministers such as the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is that we import peat from third countries. That is nonsensical. It is tokenism and hypocrisy of the highest order. It does nothing for the environment or the Irish economy. It could mean, in the mediu…

I am sure the Minister will agree that there are many female farmers across the country. The difficulty is that very few of them are recognised as such. The level of female farm ownership is pitifully low. I would like to hear the Minister's thoughts and proposals on how the next CAP plan and other measures can try to address that.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I am glad to hear that he is considering this matter an important one that needs to be addressed. If we are to have a farm structure process across the country that is reflective of the reality on the ground, it must involve culture change and policy changes. A draft CAP plan was published on 11 June in terms of negotiations and contained two articles. Article 72a states: 1. Member States shall adopt specific actions focused on promoting a greater inclusion of women in the rural …

I thank the Minister for his response. Just as we need more young people to enter farming, we also need more women, which will make farming a more successful endeavour and ensure it makes an even more positive contribution to our society. The evidence we have seen in other sectors is that statutory bodies such as Teagasc must be obliged to ensure that women enter training and education programmes, along with other measures. The CAP can play a role by providing financial supports and encouragement. We all have a rol…