Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is a legacy issue that goes back to 2015 and I am committed to addressing it. Obviously, a key focus in the past year has been getting the current CAP programme up and running, making sure the schemes are running smoothly and putting the systems and structures in place for that. That has been a big area of emphasis and priority within the Department. All these farmers, as well as all other farmers, very much depend on the current CAP for their family farm income. The continuing work on ACRES and the delivery of support through TAMS, for example, as well as the many other schemes has been the big priority over the past year.

Many of these farmers have now been farming for up to 15 to 20 years. They had been farming for five years previous to 2015. I believe we need to recognise that they were not able to access particular supports in previous CAP programmes. I am continuing that work to bring clarity about how it will work. We will do that over the course of the coming months and bring further clarity to that. It is a commitment I will deliver on, but it has been affected by the work undertaken to roll out the existing CAP, which is very important for these farmers too.

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