Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister and his officials for attending. I apologise for the delay in my arrival. I have a few points to raise. I am conscious that I missed the Minister's opening statement, but regarding his identification of the €33 million he is reallocating, the second largest reallocation seems to relate to Bord Iascaigh Mhara. Proportionally, the amount involved is quite large in terms of Bord Iascaigh Mhara's budget, at 21%, and he is now proposing to reallocate it by means of the Supplementary Estimate. I ask him to elaborate on the 21% reduction in the figure for Bord Iascaigh Mhara. A fleet decommissioning that is due to take place has not yet started but it seems to form part of the figure. Is that the entirety of it? If not, what else is involved?

My colleagues raised with the Minister the issue of the tillage sector and the pressure under which it finds itself, but it is particularly important to re-emphasise this. I have raised the matter in the Dáil with the Minister and the Taoiseach. Unfortunately, at Question Time last week, the Minister indicated very definitively that there will be no crisis fund for the tillage farmers. It is very much a minority of tillage farmers, but many among that minority have lost a significant proportion of their crop and are in a very difficult financial position as a result, particularly on the back of the past three years when the sector was not profitable. This is a real issue. The Minister indicated that those affected will be eligible for the SBCI loan fund. However, this simply does not meet the needs of that identified minority of tillage farmers. The Minister and the Government need to reconsider this matter and find funding which can be used to support those who are in dire need and experiencing cash flow pressures. The committee will meet representatives of the tillage sector later but this issue is of the utmost importance now.

Regarding the updated Estimates published last week, at that stage the Department was €222 million behind profile for the year. A significant proportion, €177 million, of that was recurrent and €45 million was capital. A significant part of this seems to be due to the fact that GLAS payments have not been processed. Can the Minister elaborate on this? I received a number of calls from constituents who have not got their GLAS payments and who have been informed-----