Like others, I support the call for a debate in the House on rural Ireland and rural issues. The farmer is the backbone of rural Ireland and farmers have many issues, one of which concerns the fair deal scheme which operates on the basis that, unless a farmer transfers his or her land more than five years before he or she enters a nursing home, it is assessed against him for the duration of his or her stay. If a farmer goes into a nursing home prematurely and is there for ten or 15 years, he or she might lose his land entirely to the scheme. The strange thing is that one would think that, if a farmer transfers his or her land four and a half years prior to going into a nursing home, at the end of the five-year period, six months into his or her stay, he or she would no longer have his or her land assessed, but that is not the case. If a person goes into a nursing home one day before the five-year period is up, his or her land is assessed for the rest of his or her living days. This is something we should debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. If family homes are assessed for only three years, income from land should also be assessed for only three years. This is an issue that warrants to be debated in the House.

I ask the Leader, at some stage before the budget is announced, to bring in the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, in order that we can have a discussion on this issue. There is merit in it for farmers.