Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy we are trying to accommodate farmers as best we can. I have spent many hours speaking to my officials, farming organisations and farmers to figure out how we can do this in a way that satisfies the Commission in terms of returning public moneys that should never have been drawn down in the first place, while also managing any penalties that may be imposed in a way that is fair. We will investigate options for repayment schedules over a number of years in order that we do not target farmers excessively.

We will continue to try to be as flexible as we can. Most people who understand this issue would accept that if we just ignore it or refuse to pay, we will simply be fined a large lump sum of money which would go way beyond the figure we were effectively overpaid on lands where money should not have been drawn down.

We are still around the table; we have never left the table with the Commission representatives. We are now going to a conciliation process and we are preparing a very significant case. We have already sent the conciliation group a very detailed submission and we will give a verbal case to back up that in the not too distant future. We are looking to try to minimise the overall exposure for Irish farming so we can manage it in a way that is as farmer-friendly as possible.

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