The Minister said that farmers who did not draw down premia payments during the reference period will not have entitlements established for them. In that context is he also referring to 1997, 1998 and 1999? Does the Minister agree that it would be undesirable if several groups emerged to argue against the Fischler proposals similar to the milk rights group, which was in operation for nearly 20 years and the concerns of which were only recently addressed? Would he agree that there is something inherently unfair about a system whereby someone who leased their land, be it without any unusual circumstances, had no indication that such leasing would lead to a negative economic impact for them down the road, and that something must be done to address the difficulty these people have? I know that many of the farming organisations have adopted an attitude of, "tough luck – you lost out", but if we are interested in fairness in our society we must address these difficulties.
To what is the Minister referring when he points to force majeure? What of an individual who was sick for a long period, for example, someone not necessarily in the farm retirement scheme, who leased his or her land? What about the individual who never farmed for premia? I recently spoke to a vet who has about 400 clients, approximately ten of whom never claimed premia. Ten is not a huge number, but enough to have major implications for those involved. Can the Minister give any indication that those people will be facilitated in any manner?