Ms Geraldine Gleeson:

The Deputy asked for a breakdown by county. We do not have the figures to hand, but we can get them for him. My colleague, Mr. Kelly, has pointed out to me that under the new model, files are assigned by county. We would have to get a separate file to organise the results of appeals by county. We have done this previously. I accept that the cases of self-employed persons take longer, as such cases often involve getting a set of accounts and there might be delays with the accountant. We have noticed that there is generally an investigation by an inspector. That takes time, by definition, because an inspector has to go out.

The Deputy also spoke about what was seen as a second home when a farm assist application was being considered.