Joe O'Reilly on nitrates derogation, farm succession and mental health

Thank you. At the outset, I just want to say something that I know other occasions will arise to address, but I want to convey my sympathy to the family of Jim Finucane, who passed away and who I have known for many, many years. Jim was a councillor in Kerry indeed, you would have known him well yourself. But Jim, I campaigned with Jim in Dublin many years ago and I had known him very well over the years, so I just want to say that, but there will be other or fuller occasions for this. If I could turn to something that you indeed, Leader, you attended with me yourself this morning, it's the Chagas briefing. There was an excellent Chagas briefing in Boswell this morning and it's a great tribute to Chagas to do this annually and let Oireachtas members see what they're doing and that. But two very important issues arose today. Obviously the whole question of water quality and the nitrates derogation. And the nitrates derogation is very crucial to farmers and I know that the Commissioner will be in Ireland on a listening mission this Friday and I would hope that she will realise what's at issue here. A, that the water quality in Ireland is improving, that very serious steps have been taken under the leadership of Chagas and to do this and that B, that it is crucial to the farm incomes that we do have the nitrates derogation in this country. And that neatly links to the second one because if you don't have income and if you don't have viability and sustainability, you can't have succession. It's not of interest to have succession. And the question of succession arose today. One very heartening thing to hear today was that women are entering agriculture now in the same way, you know, as should be the case, but that any taboo or any inhibition or any traditional reluctance on the part of women to become farmers and take over a family farm has diminished in considerable numbers. And that's good. But in general, the succession issue is important. And every strategy should be put in place to deal with it. And I would ask you, Leader, that we'd have a debate around it as to how to strategies to achieve it. And there are many well-being issues. There's income issues. There's the cost of succession and the fear of the various costs associated with it. One thing that I thought was, but it can be in the mix for our discussion, but it's no longer in vogue. But when there was a financial incentive in the past for farmers by the way of a pension or an income or an honorarium to give up the farm to the next generation, I think that helped. But there are a number of tax incentives there. So I hope that we could have a debate leader at some point on the question of succession in agriculture, on the nitrates directive, derogation rather, the need for a derogation in Ireland, and on agriculture in general. And a very final point that came up today was the mental health of farmers and their well-being. And that's very, very important. One of my own sons has done study in this area. I think it's a really important sphere that farmers' well-being of its nature, that it can be a lonely profession. Thank you. God bless you.