Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The debate has been very informative on both sides. We have heard from eminent people with great knowledge and from the Department whose officials have exceptional knowledge of the issue. It has been very helpful. The backlog has been the biggest issue the Department has homed in on. It has expressed the hope that most of these issues will be resolved in the very short term, not the medium term. It hopes to resolve 600 cases in the next two years. That is 300 a year if I am to believe what I have heard today. How is the Department going to resource that from a manpower perspective given that 600 cases is what it managed to deal with in the period from 2012 to date? It will mean an enormous drive to make the necessary changes to the Department's structures, manpower and efficiencies to manage as many cases in the next two years as it has managed since 2012. Will the Department explain in detail how it will manage this? Will it be through computerised courses, budget changes or staff increases? How will that move forward?

Dr. Beamish mentioned BIM and whether it should be involved with the industry itself first before it comes to the Department. Dr. Beamish reckoned there might be a conflict of interest in that regard. Is there a need for a Teagasc-type organisation to be set up for the process? In the agricultural sphere, Teagasc has a relationship with the Department to some degree as the funder and it advises farmers on a day-to-day basis regarding grants and how they work. On the other side, Teagasc provides an information service to inform the development of national policy. Is there a space for a Teagasc set-up in Dr. Beamish's industry to help streamline applications and assist the Department with the system? If such an institution were set up, how should it be constituted?