Debate contribution: Areas with Natural Constraints (Payments) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 23 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

23 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Areas with Natural Constraints (Payments) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5465741

Read the official Assembly record

Text

There is something deeply honest about a family farm. It is a way of life that is passed from one generation to the next. It is about early mornings in the dark and late evenings in the rain. It is about a commitment to the land, to animals and to the community, and it is a commitment that is never switched off. It is often those very farms — small, family-run upland farms — that are left behind, however. It is worth remembering how we got here. Areas of natural constraint payments were much reduced and then ended in 2018 under the DUP, apparently the great supporter of the local farmer. The cuts did not hit everyone equally, however; they hit small family farms in disadvantaged areas hardest. The DUP often claims to be the farmer's friend, but, too often, its focus has been on the wider agriculture industry and on supporting big business rather than on protecting the most vulnerable farms on the margins. If the Bill restores a degree of fairness by recognising the structural challenges that those upland farmers face, it is welcome and a necessary correction. The reality is that farming in areas such as the Mournes is not the same as farming on prime lowland ground. The seasons are shorter, the costs are higher and the margins are tighter. Without targeted support, those farms are at risk. If we are serious about encouraging young people into farming and sustaining rural communities, we have to make it viable. We have to show that there is a future there not only for large operations but for family farms, which are the backbone of rural life. I will raise one issue that brings everything into sharp focus for me. I was contacted by a constituent family whose 13-year-old son is a wheelchair user and passionate about farming. He wants to be in the yard. He wants to do his share of the work. He wants to be part of a life that so many people take for granted. The barriers that he faces are with access. His family asked me this simple question: what support is there to make the farm accessible for him or for their business to be viable enough to allow them to have the money to invest in making it accessible for him? At the minute, the answer is, "Very little".

We all know that farming is one of the most dangerous professions, but when there is not even enough support to enable a family to have a good enough income to help their disabled child, we know that the entire sector is in real danger.

If we truly believe in the future of farming, that future must be open to everyone, regardless of their needs or where they farm. I recognise the DUP's concerns that the Bill does not provide any new money and that the money must come from DAERA's budget. Let us break that down a little bit: we have a Sinn Féin Member introducing a Bill that promises no new money, despite one of his own being the Finance Minister whose draft Budget offers no new money. That is all being done just ahead of an election. Something similar happened in 2022 in respect of hospital car parking charges, and, as we all know, after that election, we were back here having to defer their abolition, and we defer it again and again. I hope that we can get some comfort or assurance that this will not be a case of just promising things to a sector until we get to the other side of an election and, then, saying, "Sorry, there's no money to deliver this", and keep putting it back. Given that the Member's party has the Department that runs the money — the Finance Department — hopefully, we will get an assurance that funding will come behind this Bill to make its provisions a reality so that those small, rural farms are able to survive. That is what we want to see in constituencies such as mine, which has rural communities and upland farms that struggle to make ends meet. The payments that the Bill would deliver would greatly assist them in their work. However, if it is just a promise that gets cancelled after the next election, it is not much good. I hope that we get those assurances. We are happy to support the Bill's passage to the next stage and, with those assurances, make it a reality for our rural communities.

757 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification