Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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First, in the line of ANC, everything changed with the new CAP, including ANC, BISS, CRISS, the eco scheme, sheep, calf and arable. When you look at the Department units led by Francis or Thomas or Margaret - Pat is in inspections and Josephine is on TAMS - we had not one problem. Okay, we would have to wait for a few weeks but if you picked up a phone, it was sorted. The one observation I have for the section in Portlaoise - and I find it very good and want to compliment our witnesses - is that if the digitisation of maps could be sped up, it would be helpful. Especially if there are odd appeals going on and with the GAEC coming up down the road, the digitisation could be of benefit in the future.

To be fair, in all the schemes I deal with, I do not have a problem. In the line of organic, the great work that was done was mentioned earlier on. Of the work that was done, I can say that Jack Nolan over there travelled the byroads and the highways of Ireland a few years ago into cold halls and warm halls at night. I saw him in the west trying to promote to people the value of getting into organic when a lot of farmers were very afraid of it. The other person I want to compliment is Willie Murphy.

The one thing I want to get stuck into is ACRES. Can Mr. Savage tell me how many people were waiting in 2023 for their payments?