Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I congratulate my constituency colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith, on his elevation to the office of Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I wish him the best and assure him that I will give all the positive and constructive help I can. I also congratulate Deputy Killeen on his appointment as Minister of State at that Department.

This scheme is very important, as the Minister, who comes from a county with a similar structure to mine, knows. The problem here arises due to applications that were lodged in departmental offices that do not use the computer system. Those applications are not, as yet, recognised. What is the legal situation of a person who has lodged an application in an office but has not been assured whether it will be taken? This is a major problem facing many farmers who do not know whether to proceed with projects of various sizes under their own steam or wait to see what will happen. Will the Minister advise when this group will know if the scheme is to be reopened?

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