Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I am currently discussing the funding arrangements with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and I expect that a determination on those arrangements will be made shortly. As the Taoiseach said last night, "the Government's aim is to ensure that funding is available to meet claims for properly completed and validated work under the scheme."

In the short intervening period, payments to farmers under the scheme have been deferred but they will be resumed as soon as possible. I reassure Deputies that the Department continues to carry out the necessary inspections and to process claims to payment stage. I am aware of the concerns among farmers that these payments will not be honoured but I would again reiterate my commitment and that of the Government to full payment of these claims, subject to their meeting the terms and conditions of the scheme.

Before concluding, it is important to stress that the Government has made and continues to make very significant financial commitments to underpin the future development of a sustainable and competitive agriculture and food sector capable of meeting the demands of modern consumers. This year, the Department spend is in excess of €3.4 billion in support of Irish agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Notwithstanding the overriding need for budgetary restraint in these difficult times, we are making every effort to preserve measures designed to underpin the productive capacity of the sector. I can assure the House that the Government will continue to utilise whatever means it can to enable agriculture and the agri-food sector to maximise its contribution to the wider economy.

I again thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity to set out the position on this matter and to reiterate the Government's commitment to honouring in full those farm waste management scheme claims that meet the Department's specifications. In response to Deputy O'Mahony, I never spoke about the late flood of applications on the national airwaves. I spoke about the number of claims that came in, which are quite different to applications. On a point made by Deputy Creed and others, there is a gain for farmers in this scheme. Many people I spoke to and whom we all represent have said that for the first time they have good on-farm facilities. They are able to keep cattle indoors for longer to save and preserve their grassland. Similarly, individual farmers——

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