Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I said clearly that I have €5 million budgeted for this year. We do not know how many farmers come under this. They have to put themselves forward first. Once they do, we will examine them on a case-by-case basis and see if they qualify. Of course I will publish the figures of people who qualify in this regard. The process I am going through now is to see if there is enough in the allocation that was made in last year's budget for me to be able to address everyone and draw a line under it. If extra money needs to be found, that may have to go into next year. I am determined to try to draw a line under this issue once and for all.