Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this important issue and I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Tony Killeen, to the House to reply to the debate.

I do not intend to dwell too much on the merits of the installation aid scheme for the purposes of this debate, as they are already well documented. However, I would like to put on the record the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's constant refrain in respect of the decision to suspend the schemes on budget day. He said he regretted that and that when financial circumstances would permit, he hoped to be in a position to reintroduce the schemes.

I wish tonight to draw attention to the installation aid scheme in particular, because there is some confusion in that regard. This confusion arises in particular from an article in the Irish Examiner of 6 December by my good colleague, that eminent agricultural correspondent Ray Ryan, the headline of which reads, "Independent TD secures commitments on installation aid". The article goes on to state that Deputy Michael Lowry secured some agreement regarding applications for the installation aid scheme which had been substantially progressed, but which had not been lodged within the Department by 14 October, budget day. I would like clarification on the agreement made with Deputy Lowry.

I raised the same matter on 3 December as a priority question on Question Time, three days before the said article appeared in the Irish Examiner. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said to me in reply:

I have no plans at present to reopen the young farmers' installation aid scheme and the early retirement scheme to new applications, but the limiting of the suspension of the scheme will be considered at the earliest opportunity, having regard to the budgetary situation.

In response to further questions, the Minister went on to say:

I have stated repeatedly in the House and in response to councillors, representatives of various farming organisations and in the media that it is my intention to revisit my decision to suspend entry to the schemes as soon as circumstances permit.

He went on to state:

I understand that at times the delay in lodging applications may have been outside an applicant's power. I am conscious of that but I do not want to mislead anybody. I am not in a position at this time to say when we will be able to progress those particular applicants who had set out on the road to complete an application. I assure Deputy Creed that those applicants will be the first to have their applications processed when it is possible to re-open the schemes.

He concluded by stating: "The scheme was suspended due to budgetary constraints and that remains the position".

Unless the Government has won the national lottery since the Minister went on the record, I have not seen a change in budgetary circumstances that would enable the Minister to live up to the commitments he made to reopen the scheme as soon as budgetary circumstances permitted. Is there some kind of nod and wink politics going on between the Department and the Independent Deputies who prop up the Government, Deputy Lowry in Tipperary North and Deputy Healy-Rae in Kerry South? Has a sweetheart deal been arranged for would-be applicants for installation aid in those areas who have made substantial progress but who have not submitted the application form? Are they being treated differently in north Tipperary than in the rest of the country? Either Mr. Lowry or the Minister is telling porkies. They cannot both be right.

Will the Minister of State put on the record tonight whether the installation aid scheme is back up and running? The IFA has sent the Department a list of approximately 500 applicants who are in these circumstances, but those applicants are in areas from Malin Head to Mizen Head, some in my constituency. Will the Government treat them differently because they do not live in north Tipperary? I want and hope the Minister of State will clearly state the scheme is back up and running and open for business.

The scheme has a value significantly in excess of the €15,000 installation aid grant because it sends a signal to an industry crying out for new blood that encourages new thinking and highly trained qualified farmers at this critical time in the agricultural industry. Is the Minister holding his ground or has he yielded? If he has yielded, he cannot yield exclusively to north Tipperary. It must be a concession that is available to every would-be applicant.

See this speech in context