Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Even if there is double that number it means there are 50 plans per planner, on average, and they have to get area aid and everything else done in the meantime, as well as deal with AEOS and REPS and so on. If the Minister looks at what planners get paid he will be able to figure out how many days it takes them to do a plan and he will find out that there is not enough time to do 30,000 or 40,000 plans. Is the Minister confident there is enough capacity to get them all done by the middle of May?

Is it the Minister's intention to have a later closing date for those with commonages in view of the huge difficulties and delays that will be involved in, first, getting planners who are willing to do commonages and, second, getting agreement on the commonages between the farmers as to which of the planners would be used to draw up the plan for the commonage? There is a strong view that the commonage plans will be unattractive. Farmers are wondering whether the Minister is willing to have a later closing date for commonage farmers and if he will reserve a certain number of places for them because they believe they are not in a position to compete timewise with those on low land who are in a much more attractive position.

Another question that arises relates to GLAS. If a farmer participates in GLAS this year and has two years left in AEOS, my understanding is that he will be paid only for three years in GLAS. Will the Minister confirm if that is provided for in the regulations or if it is a rule made by him? As the Minister is aware, there are huge concerns regarding penalties for farmers, which have a big effect on all of the accounts he has given, in respect of land eligibility issues and what appears to be a determined effort by the Department to dramatically reduce eligible land in semi-natural areas. Perhaps he can tell the committee what financial effect that is likely to have on the Estimates if what has happened in south Galway is continued throughout the country. Will he confirm that it is intended to have 300 inspections on farms with commonages? Will he also confirm the situation in areas where farmers have been precluded from grazing in the winter following which the inspectors say there is no farm activity on the land?