Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply, for the work he has done under the animal welfare headings and the support he has given to farmers in the pig and poultry sectors. Farmers who are actively trying to comply with the September deadline and are well on course to do so find themselves at slight odds with the local authorities in terms of planning permission and often the devil can be in the detail. The old standard that is applicable is that if a development is largely compliant with the design submitted to the planning authority, that is acceptable and can be signed off by a competent architect or engineer. This apparently is not acceptable to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which has required a certificate from the local authority, but the local authorities do not provide that in respect of any development. The Minister might engage with the relevant sectors to find out what exactly is happening because an administrative blockage is resulting unfortunately in a more serious one to the effect that some sow owners have been threatened with the possibility of not being compliant with regulations and may have to forego their farm support grants even though the September deadline has not yet been achieved.

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