Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

This meant having to make difficult decisions but I am satisfied that, in the circumstances, I made the right ones. Given some of the reactions to the budget measures I announced, one would be easily excused for forgetting that my Department will be spending €3.26 billion in support of Irish agriculture, fisheries, food and forestry in 2009. This expenditure ensures that record funding of €355 million will be provided for REPS, which represents a 7% increase in overall funding and a 17% increase in payments under REPS 4. Less than four years ago, the yearly allocation for REPS was €209 million.

Next year's level of spending will ensure that the commitment, entered into in the partnership agreement, to provide €250 million over five years for the suckler cow welfare scheme will be honoured in full. To suggest anything other than that this commitment is being honoured is inaccurate.

Earlier this week, I read claims that 12,000 farmers will take a hit on their suckler payment. I do not accept this as the suckler payment is a new stream of income for farmers, the first payments only having been made in the past few weeks. Some €33 million will have been paid before the end of this month and a further €44 million will be paid in the early months of 2009.

Regrettably, it is the case that I had to reduce expenditure on the disadvantaged areas scheme, but I do not accept some claims about the extent of the impact of that decision on overall farm incomes. I remind the House that the Irish disadvantaged areas scheme is one of the best-resourced in the European Union. Its payments comprise national and EU funding. Two thirds of disadvantaged area payment recipients will experience no reduction in their payments. I consciously protected the smaller-scale farmers by ensuring that no farmer with less than 34 hectares, or 84 acres, will have his payment reduced.

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