Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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GAEC 2 is done and in. Is that fair to say? It would be advisable to do a video on GAEC 2 to explain in detail to farmers about where shoring or drainage is done, because there are many questions. The Minister is minimising it a bit. Last year, if I was out in a digger pulling a shore and a Department man came in, he could not do anything to me. This year, if I was pulling the same shore, there would be a penalty. That is what farmers need to know. If farmers had land shored previously, it would be worth having a video up on the Department's website to help them. The debate is over because it is in, and there is no point in me spending a heap of time talking about that. I think farmers deserve that.

The Minister said that by June the number of farmers involved in the issue relating to ACRES would be down to about 2,000 farmers. Does he accept that next Christmas would be the date by which the third cheque that farmers are supposed to get will be issued? Does he accept there is a problem? Portlaoise is able to throw out all the payments, in fairness, to 120,000 under the CAP, the suckler carbon efficiency programme, the sheep welfare programmes and so on. Since I came to the Dáil, there has been a problem with forestry in Wexford and with every environmental scheme so far. What is wrong and why defend something that is not getting fixed?