Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll gave a fantastic and in-depth presentation. One issue he raised was the TB eradication programme. Margaret Good, who works in the Department, is the European, if not the world expert, on TB. One issue that comes up is the eight-hour test compared to the 24-hour blood test and how they fit into the system. I have heard of cases where a skin test, an eight-hour test and 24-hour test have been done but with different results and a different view taken after. Then there are issues over different district veterinary offices, DVOs, taking issues regarding a reactor and when a neighbours' herd is locked up or not. There are different approaches across the country. Is there one straight view regarding this? I admit I am a vested interest at the moment but that is another issue. However, we need to work out in detail where the skin test falls into the 24-hour test, or the eight-hour test and what is considered to be a reactor afterwards. If the animal goes to the factory and has lesions, how is this dealt with? Farmers need clarity in this area.

Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll spoke in detail about the BVD, bovine viral diarrhoea, eradication scheme. It has been a fantastic initiative which has worked very well. Johne's disease is now another issue, particularly for the dairy industry, and how that fits in with what we do abroad and how we market our product. Will Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll expand on where the Department is going with its Johne's disease programme, its long-term plan and how it will drive the initiative?

It is positive that direct payments have increased by 13% and 8%, respectively. There is a question about the number of people who have not been paid and not been notified. People have been phoning around asking others if they got the text and if they had been paid. It is like the lotto. There is a better way of doing this. If there is an issue, people should be informed rather than waiting for a text. If they do not get a text, they should be brought into the loop. I never quite understood why we could not pay the 70% and then take the reductions out of the 30% payment in the second round.

People need that 70%, particularly this year. If there is to be a reduction, unless it is a huge reduction, which rarely happens, the 70% should be paid automatically and the 30% can be worked on after that. The number of queries on this issue is amazing. The main queries I received this year, as opposed to other years, were from people who had two or three transfers, whether they were going into a company or leasing entitlements. I am aware of four people who have gone into a company and are renting their own entitlements. Those are the people who have been held up. Is it that they are falling through the Department, so to speak, or are those cases just falling on my desk? Is that an issue we are propping up, so to speak?

It would be remiss of me not to ask Mr. Paul Dillon about the position on the Haulbowline project, which is unique to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and in terms of driving forward development in Cork Harbour. Mr. Dillon might give us a brief update on that issue in terms of how the project is progressing.