Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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What I cannot understand is this. If the satellite shows something from the sky for the BISS and the feed inspection is done rapidly, in fairness to them, up to a month ago we did not have a system where they were able to feed the information into the ACRES side if it was an ACRES inspection. That is a year and a half down the road now. That is not tolerable, to be frank. In fairness, on the low land they got through the barriers but on the ACRES CP zones something needs to be done immediately. The Minister talked about farmers getting the money. Yes, they got the money, but then they got it after they had to pay money back. There was information that planners needed, such as score cards and stuff. They sent them in and then they were not able to give them the information out. It has been a pure nightmare for the planners and the farmers. In all fairness, I do not care who you are or whether it is 5% or 1%, if someone went in good faith and paid a planner in 2023, it is wrong that all those 2023 payments are stalled until January because they are trying to get out payments for 2024. It is not fair on any farmer to be treated in this way. Regardless of what the Department needed to do, we should pay them. In 2015 France was in trouble. It is there for anyone to read about. The French Government was able to get money from its Exchequer to pay the farmers. When they got all their IT problems sorted, they were able to put it back in. That 5% of farmers have their tongues out for money at the minute - they are ringing every one of us - but no one seems to be doing anything for them and they are getting awfully frustrated. The other part is that they could two bubbles in the one year and then they will have to deal with that.

Is the Department looking at some simple way to address these issues? I know the hill farmers have sent proposals to the Department. Are any of these being considered to try to get these people sorted? I do not care who they are; they do not deserve to be have been left waiting this length of time after paying people to get their plans in place.