Mr. Joseph McCrohan:

At a micro level, the facilitators on the ground who are paid by the Department of agriculture, will allocate funding. In Kerry, it is South Kerry Development Partnership staff. Ms Emily Moran and Mr. John Lynch are out on the ground. They bring forward the farmer, the suggestion is brought to the working group and if we feel the farmer is suitable then he or she is approved to start. That process is critically important because social farming is not for every Tom, Dick and Harry. We do not want people becoming social farmers because they see big bucks in this game. This is a social inclusion project that needs to be minded and nurtured. I have walked away from farmers who were suggested but they wanted to join for the wrong reasons, which were cash and money solely. Of course, we are not foolish in Kerry and understand that money makes the world go around. It is important that the vetting is done right, that insurance and everything are in place, and continue to be in place. One of the key elements, particularly for our project in Kerry, is farmer development. Our aim is to make him or her a better host farmer year on year so that he or she stays in the project. We do that because the longer a farmer stays in the project, the more fulfilment he or she gets, the better he or she gets at it and the happier the participants. The care services refer participants who have been identified as having an interest in farming and want to participate.