Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The money is the money that is laid out. We will not change it here. No matter what we do, it will be the same. There is no point in holding the Minister all night.

We got a few phone calls in recent days from people about slurry. Next year, from what I can see, most farmers will need to be using the low emission slurry spreading system, LESS, going by the nitrate regulations and all that. I was looking at gear and what it costs. It costs between €50,000 and €80,000 to get the gear in. If the Minister does not talk to the contractors or the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland, FCI, there could be a problem in many areas. That is my opinion having talked to farmers in different areas.

On TB, there seems to be a question, debate or disagreement between different groups about who pays for what test. Is that issue resolved? It is important that there is an agreement on that.

Am I right in saying the 2022 target budget for EU direct payments, which I was looking at here, is something like €28 million less than it was in 2021? It has gone from €1.19 billion to €1.162 billion. Maybe I am-----