Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Some of my questions were already answered. The main problem with the Department's staff being cut by a third is that it is reflected on the ground in the relationship between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the farming community. At one time the Department was portrayed as always having somebody at the end of the telephone to give advice. The further automation of the Department really concerns me. In addition, there are no plans, now that the moratorium has been lifted, to increase the number of staff in the Department. Farmers in rural Ireland want a relationship with a human being, not a machine. That is a major concern.

Will there be a national reserve in place for 2017? When will existing young farmers be paid? With regard to dairy farming and the emergency fund put in place last year whereby dairy farmers received the same payment across the board, currently moves are being made to equate the level of payment to the amount of milk produced. This would see the large producers gain more from the fund at the expense of small dairy farmers. That is causing much hardship for small dairy farmers, particularly in the area from which I come in Mayo.

Is land with heather still excluded from permanent pasture measure under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS? There was no room for this kind of marginal land in the previous two schemes. Has it been addressed in the new scheme? Restricting the maximum of permanent pasture and traditional hay meadow to 10 ha has greatly reduced income from GLAS. Will that be increased? When will GLAS payments for 2016 be made?

Beef prices are down to €150 per head. It is quite evident in the marts, particularly in the west, that the number of Northern buyers has been greatly reduced. What plans has the Department to address that?

One way to help farm income in disadvantaged areas would be to increase the ANC, areas of natural constraint, payment in line with the islands payment? Has the Department any plans to do that? When will the sheep scheme be up and running?

After the court case taken by a farmer on agricultural inspections, has an audit been done in the Department as to how many inspections were carried out without the control report sheet being signed?

What part can the Department play in maximising the potential of the seaweed industry, particularly along the west coast, and avoid a monopoly where it is controlled by a limited number of producers?