Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. Will he outline why he cannot publish the observations? While I welcome his offer to come before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I believe that members of that committee would be at a disadvantage if they did not have a copy of the Commission's observations. Has the Minister asked the Commission for permission to give Oireachtas Members the Commission's observations and the Department's replies to same? I understood that the change in Government was all about openness and inclusivity, particularly with regard to Oireachtas Members, the elected representatives of the people. Will the Minister explain why he cannot publish the Commission's observations and the Department's response to them?

The Minister also said that the timeline is very tight in terms of getting approval before the end of the year. Can I take it that the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, will definitely not open before Christmas? It seems we are already a month or two behind where the Minister had hoped we would be at the beginning of the process.

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