Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister continues with the fallacy that all is hunky-dory with the rural development programme when it is clear that he and the Government are failing to live up to the promises they made about spending on the programme and the participation rates across the various schemes. At present, only 30% of the funds have been used, which means that €2.7 billion of the funds promised to farmers have still to be spent by the end of 2020. Participation rates across all the schemes are running behind target. For example, participation in the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, is 27% behind the original target of 35,000 participants. The participation rate in the knowledge transfer group schemes is running at nearly 50% behind the target, with 19,000 farmers signed up when the initial objective was 27,000 farmers.

The green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, in particular, is running behind the promised commitment the former Minister, Deputy Coveney, made on behalf of Fine Gael and the Government in respect of the rural development programme and the €1.4 billion over the course of the scheme. On the basis of calculations and responses to parliamentary questions which I have received, it is clear that the maximum spend now will be no more than €214 million per year. The former Minister, Deputy Coveney, promised it would be €250 million per year when the scheme was at its maximum. When one calculates all of that, it means that spending under GLAS can be no more than €1.18 billion by 2021. That is allowing for it to run into the next rural development programme and for everybody in GLAS to be fully paid. It is over €200 million less. It is time for the Minister to come clean. Either he will spend the money or he should state that farmers were sold a pup when the former Minister, Deputy Coveney, announced that the scheme would provide €1.4 billion over the course of the rural development programme.

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