Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On TAMS, I am dealing with a number of farmers who are currently in appeals. It is a very strange scheme in the sense that farmers will have outlaid a great deal of money in terms of building sheds or concrete pits and so on. For example, in a situation where a 100% penalty is applied, it would not be possible to return concrete. Some of the cases I am dealing with are in regard to technical anomalies. One case involves a husband and wife, returned emigrants and new farmers, whose receipts were in some cases paid to him, in others to her and to a company they both own. They now face the prospect of losing their farm if their appeal is not successful. Has the Minister had any interaction with his officials in regard to this area? We need to ensure there is no fraud - that is very important - but where it is clear that money allocated has been spent for the purpose for which it was granted but an anomaly, mistake or a little negligence is detected, I would hope there would be some flexibility. Does the Minister know the number of outstanding applications that are subject to appeal at the moment?

Is there anything the Minister can do in terms of working with his officials to address the anomalies I mentioned?