Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

The Opposition has been peddling rumours non-stop over this scheme. I condemn that as dishonest and disingenuous. It is despicable to worry farmers needlessly by spreading stories which have no foundation in reality. Farmers were concerned about the impending end-of-December deadline. The atrocious weather and torrential rains certainly made conditions very difficult at one point and there were big delays in carrying on the work. This problem was further compounded by the scarcity of suitable builders and contractors to undertake the necessary work on the structures. There has been considerable relief from this in recent weeks and farmers have redoubled their efforts to complete all the work satisfactorily and on time. Farmers are very serious about their obligation and with the increased availability of contractors, they will be well able to meet their deadline with some comfort.

The deadline imposed was not some whimsical notion on the part of the Minister. The deadline is an absolute condition of the EU state aid approval. The European Commission has been strict on this deadline; there is no room for flexibility here.

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