Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that no time or effort will be spared in negotiating for as much as can possibly be achieved in the coming months. Consultation is ongoing with all stakeholders. The Deputy should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers. To be clear, no decision has yet been made on these matters. As we speak, departmental officials are talking to colleagues in other Departments in an effort to maximise the funding we can obtain for rural development. It is important, moreover, that whatever funding we obtain we keep. The Government of which the Deputy was a member dropped the schemes it had negotiated halfway through their cycles, including the rural environment protection scheme, the young farmers' installation scheme, the early retirement scheme and the suckler cow and fallen cow schemes. We do not want to announce something that we cannot maintain. That is why we are engaged in a consultation process. Officials in every relevant Department are working with the farming organisations to ensure we have schemes that will assist people living in rural areas and ensure the agricultural industry can survive and prosper. An important element of this is the Leader programme, in which the Deputy has had a special interest for many years. The Minister is very supportive of the ongoing efforts to establish that scheme, together with the other schemes.

As I said, negotiations are ongoing and no decision has been made. I would greatly appreciate the Deputy's help in this regard. I hope he will propose ideas, which we will be happy to take into consideration. The Minister and I want to be constructive, as does the Department. We are receiving great support from many rural and farmers' organisations, including people in the Deputy's party. In fact, some of those people have advised us not to listen to what he is saying in regard to Pillars 1 and 2. Some of the Deputy's views are not going down too well with his own people and he would be well advised to check with members in constituencies such as Kilkenny and Wexford. When he brings that consultation to the table, we will be happy to listen to him.

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