Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this and I thank the Minister for being here to reply.

In recent weeks I have been inundated with calls from farmers on the length of time it has taken to get payments such as REPS and AEOS payments, which have been through due process and paid out. It stems from a problem with the digitisation of maps and other issues and at this point it is difficult to understand how a new mapping system could be causing such lengthy delays. It causes great concern, anger and frustration among the farming community and I call the Minister to do whatever he can to rectify this issue as soon as possible.

As the Minister and those who have a knowledge of the farming community know, in many cases the money has already been spent, sometimes on compliance with the AEOS scheme or in the last number of months to purchase fertiliser or to make silage. This money may now be owed to contractors or co-operatives, putting huge financial pressure on farmers. Some farmers might also have family members at college who would be expecting this money in recent months and will have budgeted for it.

Another issue causing great frustration is the lack of feedback from the Department. Many farmers who have been on to me submitted their applications many months ago only to find recently there is a problem with the application now. Surely this information should have been relayed to the applicant immediately, easing the frustration and the backlog in the Department. I suggest a lack of communication between relevant sections within the Department is causing this information blackout for farmers. Also, the way of communicating with the Department must be improved. Many farmers are being given a freephone number which leads them on a merry-go-round and leaves them with more questions than answers. They might have to telephone Portlaoise and then telephone another Department office, their file might be in one office and then they are told it is in another office. Instead of getting concrete answers, they are left asking where their files are and what point the application is at.

The biggest fear amongst farmers is that this delay will affect other payments such as the single farm payment, which is of huge importance to the farming community, and I ask the Minister to make sure the first 50% of this payment is paid out on time. I understand the Minister has only been in his position for a short time and I have no doubt he is still finding his feet but we must look to the future on this issue to make sure this does not happen again next year. I suggest a streamlining of the payment system so it could be centralised, which would make the processing of these applications more efficient so from the moment a person makes an application, he or she can easily track the file and any issues that might arise and if corrections must be made there would be an opportunity to fix them so the file could be resubmitted and payment received as soon as possible.

I thank the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for gaining a two week extension to the spreading of slurry due to extremely wet weather. This issue was causing great concern and a common sense approach has won out.

I congratulate the Minister on his first six months in the job and I know he is passionate about this industry and the potential that lies within it and I understand that these issues predate him getting the job. The agri-sector is doing well at the moment but for some farmers, especially those in disadvantaged areas, these payments are of huge importance and I ask the Minister to try and find resolutions to these problems as soon as possible.

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