The CAP agreement was referred to. I congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, on it. It is an honour for Ireland because we have held the Presidency of the European Council since January and will hold it until June. That the agreement was reached under the Minister's stewardship is unique and I congratulate him on it because I do not believe the deal would have been driven through without his energy.

I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the CAP agreement. This is important, because the CAP agreement is not about redistributing funds, but about supporting active farmers, young farmers and new entrants into farming. It is also about providing flexibility and I believe the Minister has managed to get flexibility with regard to how funds are distributed. Senator Comiskey said it would be about redistributing funds from larger farmers to smaller farmers on small payments, but that is not what it is about. It is about active farmers, young farmers and new entrants.

I congratulate the Minister with regard to the agreement reached on sugar quotas. We exited the sugar regime in Europe a few years ago and it was a sorry day for Ireland when that happened. Agreement has been reached now that sugar quotas will disappear in September 2017. We have companies, such as Beet Ireland, which are actively trying to encourage the growing of beet here again and perhaps we will announce the site for a new factory within the next two months. Sugar beet was a very important industry for agriculture in Ireland and I believe it will fit in well with the new CAP regime. That is part of the reason I asked for a debate on the CAP. I asked for this debate previously in the context of the policies of the parties in the Opposition, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil, and their position on CAP payments. It is important to have a debate in the House on CAP reform in order that we can hear the policies of the Opposition. It cannot play both sides all the time.

Aontaím go hiomlán le mo chomhghleacaí go bhfuil géarghá le díospóireacht maidir le cúrsaí CAP agus mar sin de. Ach ar dtús, ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh le peileadóirí Cumann Peile Naomh Bríd, Ros Comáin, as ucht an chraobh a thabhairt siar, thar An tSionann leo. Ba mhaith liom freisin comhghairdeas a dhéanamh le iománaithe Chumann Naomh Thomáis a thug leo an chraobh iománaíochta siar go Gaillimh. Déanaim comhghairdeas le foireann rugbaí ban na hÉireann as an éacht a rinne siadsan chomh maith.

I would certainly welcome a good robust debate on the CAP in the Seanad. We would have a good debate on the proposals here because we welcome and accept the need to redistribute CAP funding more equitably among farmers. Sinn Féin supports more equitable support of the smaller, rural farmers. We also hope that during that debate the Minister would be able to honour his commitment to limiting CAP payments to €100,000, with a view to lowering those payments to €50,000 by 2019.

We never said that.