Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on the farm waste management scheme and, in particular, I am delighted to be able to clarify the exact position of the scheme and the terms on which it will continue to operate to the end of the year. I want to dispel some of the many myths and untruths that have been circulating for some time. Those lies have been fuelled by the Opposition for their own devious ends. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Brendan Smith, on his Trojan efforts to ensure the success of the farm waste management scheme for Irish farmers in particular and for the rural community in general. Like every other sector in the open Irish economy, agriculture is bedevilled by its own challenges and its own pressures. Agriculture is an integral part of our market economy and the farming way of life is a proud institution in this country. Farming is a very serious business, run on very strict business guidelines. We have to remain competitive, we have to continue to invest prudently and we have to explore new markets for our excellent produce. We constantly have to adapt our methods of farming to remain efficient, we have to ensure good husbandry and there is the critical EU dimension to all our farming activities.

As a farmer, I am happy to say that Irish farmers are a sturdy, hard-working bunch of people and they have always risen to meet the challenges put in front of them. Farmers in this country are progressive, they have a sound business head and they always recognise the important role they play in the community. Farmers are the real custodians of our environment and they know they occupy a special place in ensuring that the environment is treated with respect, that it is adequately protected and that it is handed on intact to the next generation. Farmers know that they have a moral duty to uphold the integrity of the land and the environment and they act on that fact.

The EU directive on nitrates placed a particular onus on the farmer in terms of proper waste disposal methods. To comply fully with the various provisions of the directive, Irish farmers were obliged to take on a lot of extra work and a lot of additional expense. The intensive investment in new facilities for waste collection on the farm has been very substantial and very extensive.

The farm waste management scheme was innovative and it has been an unparalleled success. It was introduced specifically to help farmers to comply with the terms and conditions of the nitrates directive and the generous grant aid under the scheme has been very welcome.

In 2001, the original scheme came into play and in the five years up to 2005, €66 million was paid out by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to Irish farmers, a handsome amount by any standards. The revised scheme received over 46,000 applications by mid 2007 and over 42,000 approvals have been notified to farmers, while approximately 30,000 have actually commenced the work on the new farm facilities. In 2007, €113.8 million was paid and in 2008, €212 million has been paid out to date.

I am delighted that the Minister, Deputy Brendan Smith, has secured the approval of the Dáil for the Supplementary Estimate to extend additional funding of €195 million for this year. According to my calculations, this represents approximately €377 million in State aid to farmers in this year alone. The Estimates for 2009 provide for another €125 million to be made available next year. Overall, State funding committed to farmers in the two years 2007-09 is in excess of €615 million. That is a very significant sum of money which signals the Government's absolute commitment to farmers as vital contributors to our economy and our social and economic well-being.

The Government recognises the pivotal importance of the farming sector and is prepared to make very substantial funds available to assist that sector in investing in its future. The Government is confident that the future prospects of agriculture are very good. It is concerned to ensure that farmers remain competitive, that they can invest in the infrastructure which they need and that they can adapt quickly to the many demands which they meet. The farm waste management scheme is a very generous scheme when compared with other schemes operated elsewhere and, particularly, relative to the scheme operating in Northern Ireland. The Irish taxpayer is footing this hefty bill and farmers are laying out hundreds of millions of euro and are investing in their long-term livelihood while at the same time adopting a responsible attitude when it comes to the environment. I am disgusted by the usual scare-mongering which has surrounded the farm waste management scheme. I dismiss all the mischievous blather about what will be paid out and what will not.

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