James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is correct it is not in line with the farmers charter. At a time when farmers are facing Brexit threats, sterling fluctuations, income uncertainty and price volatility, the last thing they need is a further delay in payment. Will the Minister set out whether there is a definitive timeframe for addressing the delays in GLAS and AEOS payments? There is a concern there is no sense of urgency on this issue, given some families are waiting over five months for payments. The Department had two years of preparation in order to get this right and none of the difficulties being experienced were unexpected. Some 194 families in GLAS and 33 families in AEOS are awaiting payments, which is almost 40% of the numbers. Each one of those numbers represents a family. They need those payments and they need to know when they are going to get them.

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