Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

How many staff are employed at local level by the Department to inspect and approve those facilities? In north Tipperary there are only two people to inspect and approve under the farm improvement scheme. The old scheme has more than 400 applicants before we even come to the new scheme, which will take at least six to nine months. When will the Minister provide sufficient staff to enable the farming community to draw down the grants available to them under the scheme?

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