Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Penrose for sharing time.

As Deputy Penrose outlined, this difficulty arose from the introduction of the single payment which kicked in from 1 January 2005. The Minister informed me in response to a parliamentary question today that there was an increase of approximately 250,000 applications for various premia from the Department arising from the cessation of the payments. Heretofore, farmers knew how much they would be paid when they applied under the various schemes but many will lose a great deal of money under the new proposal. Deputy Penrose and I are aware of a young farmer who will lose €6,000 if the system kicks in, as outlined by the Minister of State. We know what is our salary and when we will be paid. However, farmers face a scenario whereby they will not be sure whether they will receive a payment and if they know, they will not be sure how much.

The Minister has kicked the issue to touch, even though it was clearly identified six months ago and forecast almost two years ago. It needs to be raised with the Agriculture Commissioner and a commitment must be secured that the €80 million involved will be paid to farmers. For example, farmers in counties Westmeath and Longford will lose between €3 million and €4 million.

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