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

I am trying to establish whether the witnesses understand the situation for farmers. This is why it is so important that they engage with either Teagasc or the farmer organisations and go out to farms to see for themselves what is there. If the mats are put on the slats, they are bolted down. If a farmer wants to take them up, it will rip the slat or the mat. The second point is that no two sheds will ever be the same. There are not two sheds in this country where I could take the mat from one and put it in the other. There will be half an inch or an inch of a difference. Where the manure goes down in one shed, it will not go down in the other. I am seeking clarity for farmers. Can they claim VAT back on mats on slats that are bolted down?