9. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on measures to support farm succession. [51677/26]

Sentiment score: 0.18

Given that one of the greatest challenges for Irish farming continues to be the ageing demographic and the low percentage of young people who are involved, will the Minister provide an update on measures to support farm succession and generational renewal?

Sentiment score: 0.78

I welcome the Minister's personal commitment to succession and generational renewal. He is right to say it is not just an Irish issue. He will know about the commission on generational renewal. He has been very strong on its recommendations. Some of them apply to the next round of CAP. The Minister will have to work with his fellow Ministers and with Commissioner Hansen to achieve some of those goals. Others are domestic, however. The Minister is correct about access to land and finance. These are key measures to support succession. Commissioner Hansen has spoken about guaranteeing that all member states invest at least 6% of their agricultural spending on measures to promote generational renewal. The Commission's report talks about 8%. Will we see a significant package dedicated to succession and generational renewal developed as part of the next CAP and, most importantly, here domestically?

Sentiment score: 0.25

I welcome that commitment. I certainly agree with the Minister. It is interesting that the European Commission's proposal aims for 24% of farmers to be new or young farmers by 2040. That is very ambitious. With regard to the strategies, we need to ensure that agriculture is sustainable. That is the kind of goal we need. I praise the work of Macra na Feirme. The Minister will be aware of how Macra operates in his own county. From regular engagements with Macra in Wicklow and Wexford, I know it is very active in this space. We need a succession scheme that supports young farmers and older farmers as that managerial role transitions from one generation to the next. There are some measures in place to do that. We need certainty and legally binding ring-fencing of funding for young farmers under the next CAP to support generational renewal. The Minister is right that there are broader issues in respect of education and guaranteed stable incomes, which are challenges for agriculture more generally. However, to attract young people to stay in or come into the career, these measures are critical.

Sentiment score: 0.40