Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

I want to ask the Minster two brief supplementary questions and the possibility of an answer would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, as regards those now being denied grant aid under this scheme, will the Minister consider a derogation from their compliance obligations under the nitrates directive and REPS because very many of them had programmes in place and investment targeted to address shortcomings on their farms to enable them to comply with these regulations? Is the Minister aware of the assertion being made by social partners, and the farming organisations in particular, that this was a demand-led scheme for which there was no set budget? Will the issue be referred for adjudication to the machinery involved in resolving disputes under social partnership, whether the National Implementation Body or some such forum because farmers feel very aggrieved by this? There is a pent-up demand for capital investment on farms. The proof of this is that the scheme was so over-subscribed and nonetheless the Department could not programme a scheme of investment to last from 2007 to 2013. The fact that it collapsed within six months because of over-subscription smacks of desperate bad planning within the Department.

In view of that and the willingness of farmers to respond——

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