One of the last speeches given by Leo Varadker as Taoiseach was when he was reviewing the changes that had occurred in Ireland. From a working population of one million in 1969, we have 2.7 million at work today.

From where agriculture and processing farm output accounted for the vast bulk of employment and exports, now over a quarter of the workforce in Ireland is directly employed by foreign-owned multinationals.

The number employed directly in agriculture was as high as 25% as recently as 1966 – today it is about 5%. On top of that are hugely increased numbers working in health, education, local authorities and the firms servicing the needs of foreign businesses.

Dublin legal and accountancy firms that had a few partners and a handful of staff are now major businesses in their own right, providing new opportunities for well-educated young people.

Just take a walk down the newly developed dockland areas of the capital. If generational renewal in farming is to mean anything, it is going to have to meet the aspirations of new entrants to match the living standards of their urban-based cousins and siblings.

This is a unique challenge given the surge in incomes in the non-farm economy. Real incomes – that is after allowing for inflation – have risen almost fourfold since 1960 and almost doubled since 1980.

At the same time, the percentage of the average household budget going on food has halved – from 28% as recently as 1980 to about 14% today.

Governments can only do so much in insulating farming from the rest of the economy, but if they are serious about encouraging young people into productive farming and food production, they should first look at the constraints and the policy framework.

Farm production

Part of the core problem is relatively new – the view that Irish agriculture, no matter how efficient, is not going to be let compete on the same basis as third countries ranging from the US, to Brazil to Thailand.

If Europe wants to have its own environmental conditions governing farm production, then governments cannot stand by and let third countries such as these with completely different legal frameworks undercut European farmers.

This does not only apply to the ongoing interminable debate on GM crops, but also everything from hormones in beef and pig production to agri chemicals in crops.

Piecemeal initiatives of the ACRES example will not solve anything, and a lack of real income stabilising measures will add to uncertainty and insecurity.

The minister should begin his generational renewal campaign with a real survey to establish where the blockages are and how peoples’ aspirations can be squared with today’s realities.