Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)

Great credit is due to the Minister and I hope that will be the case going forward.

As we are halfway through the five year ACRES environmental co-operation scheme, farmers with designated lands in Clare, such as the Burren and Sliabh Aughty, and hen harrier areas, that are non-productive investment should have the potential to improve their scores and payments. We find two and half years in that no non-productive payments have been made and, possibly, that there is no system for payments. Will these non-productive payments be made to farmers?