Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I wish Deputy Cooney well in his term ahead representing the people of Clare.

I completely agree with his point on simplification and the red tape and bureaucracy that drive farmers mad in certain circumstances where they are chasing money. My number one approach to CAP, the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and everything else is to make sure we get the maximum amount of money to support our farmers and our food production system. The second most important element is to make it as easy as possible to access the money. The first part involves negotiation across government, at Head of State level and beyond with ministers for finance, to get the overall funding. There will be a detailed process that will go on for more than a year to determine what our CAP looks like in the end, and I will rely on the input of members of this and other committees, key stakeholders, including farm organisations, and so on. I will hold a detailed consultation in which members will have role to play on how we can design CAP to make it fit for purpose. There will be flexibility for member states when we have the overall envelope, but my real focus right now is on making sure the pot is big enough.

I thank the Deputy for his comments on ACRES. I assure him that in the time we are taking to fix the problems and the way in which we are fixing them, I have not taken out one file, even though every member of the committee has come to me with individual files. I have neighbours who are impacted by this who thought there would be a great benefit to having their neighbour as Minister for agriculture, but I have not taken out their individual files to fix them because, if I did, we would be doing it with pen and paper and I would have to go back every year and fix that problem again. We are dealing with it on a systemic basis, identifying the problem, putting people in cohorts, fixing the cohort with an IT solution that means it is fixed and we do not have to come back to it again. I ask the Deputy to trust me. While it has been extremely frustrating for the people remaining, the cases we have resolved are resolved and people can have confidence in the scheme. I really want to instill that confidence again. The people we have not dealt with yet are a top priority and I will not rest until the last one has been sorted out.