Margaret Conlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to speak on the motion. The Minister, Deputy Smith, has outlined the position. The farm waste management scheme was set up in February 2001. It enabled farmers to respond to the requirement of the nitrates directive and thereby protect their single farm payments. Fianna Fáil-led Governments spent just under €66 million on this scheme between 2000 and 2005.

The scheme was due to close in 2006. However, after protracted negotiations with the European Commission, the scheme was extended for a further two years. The deadline of 31 December 2008 is a condition of EU state aid approval and the Commission has, time and time again, reiterated its expectation that Ireland will keep to this deadline. This was a once-off concession. All projects that are completed and which have all the correct and proper documentation returned to the Department by 31 December 2008 will be paid in full. People may have no worries about that specific aspect. Furthermore, as a Member from a Border constituency, I wish to highlight that the Department's scheme is far more comprehensive than the corresponding scheme in Northern Ireland. The eligible investment ceiling is higher in the Twenty-six Counties than in the North. Added to this, more eligible items come under the remit of our scheme.

The scheme has been an outstanding success with 46,000 completed applications received by the June 2007 deadline. More than 42,000 approvals have been issued to farmers and approximately 30,000 farmers have indicated that they have commenced work. Despite scurrilous rumours in the past week, there is no truth in the suggestion that any farmer participating in the scheme will be unable to reclaim VAT on their costs. Everyone should make this point clearly.

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