Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Ultimately we are in the hands of the committee which is carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny. We are in the hands of the Oireachtas. As Minister of State I would not in any way preempt how long it might take for the Houses to pass this legislation. However, we are all acutely aware, notwithstanding the concerns and challenges raised in the committee, of the impediment and the importance for farmers of passing this. A number of eco-schemes are due to commence on 1 January 2023 which might not be able to commence if we do not have this legislation in place and those schemes give farmers a number of options around liming, fertiliser, fertiliser application and different elements. Ideally we would like to see as much consensus as we can, resolve as many of the issues as we can and get the best possible solution to those that cannot be resolved, but ultimately we would like to get this legislation in place before the end of the year because that is critical. We heard earlier about the timelines for the NVPS but that is not within our gift and I will not second guess the role of Members of the Houses.