Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I am often more political than Deputy Naughten. Farmers with fewer than 20 livestock units will be included in the scheme. I have seen the forms and the supplementary information, which have been simplified to the best of our ability. I agree with Deputy Crawford that people should not have to pay an exorbitant sum of money to have small jobs done. The documents are ready for the printers, with a view to going very quickly. I hope to have the earthen bank specifications ready in the next few days.

The only impasse we have had on the state aid rule has been a lack of trust on the part of the Commission that the reason we were introducing this scheme over a three-year rather than one-year period was to undermine the directive. I assured the Commissioner that was not the case and that the real reason was that farmers would find it difficult to get people to do the necessary work. I do not want a situation whereby farmers are forced to pay high prices because of tight deadlines when that should not be the case. She has taken on board our genuine concerns. I wrote to her on Friday, following my meeting with her on Thursday, which was very positive and I expect to receive sanction soon. Then we will disseminate the information to everybody as quickly as possible. I have also freed up staff to ensure there will be no delays with inspections and support for farmers.

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