Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I took my decision based on the engagement I had at the stakeholders' forum after the harvest and what the ask was. In terms of the limited resources we have, we have put some €14 million into the loan fund. I based it on the basis that this was one of the asks. I appreciate that there were a whole host of things, but I do not have an endless supply of funds, so I availed of what was there. I have engaged with the farm organisations and they have asked post the budget for something to be done on the tillage side. We have specifically made provision that some of them will avail of in the context of the SBCI loan fund. They have also asked, to be fair, on the beef side for €200 per suckler cow, which is a €200 million bailout. There is no shortage of asks. There is an ask for a further bailout on the horticulture side. There are limits on the de minimusaid we can provide and we took the decision to go down the loan fund route.