Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has not outlined the nature of the checks and the problems identified. Perhaps a lot of people in here do, but I do not hold any torch for the IFA. However, it has set up a service unit that is used by between 55 and 60 farmers a week. It identified between 800 and 900 farmers in the space of a few months. Surely to God a lot of people are in the system and not everybody comes into it new. There should be a freeflow system. I often think there is somebody in the Department trying to identify problems. The Minister said 3,500 people will not get a shilling until May. He said there are approximately 6,000 cases outstanding and 2,700 have to get back to the Department with little bits and pieces in terms of failure to provide nutrient plans, for example. What is the cause of delay for the remaining 3,300? The Minister outlined that there are approximately 49,700 active participants in the GLAS scheme and 43,200 of those have been paid.

Could the Minister indicate whether there is a problem with the famous computer that is in the Department? I have no time for computers. I still write letters in the old fashioned way.

That computer is famous. It caused many headaches and much heartache. I am unsure whether the Department ever got it fixed, but I would be grateful to find out whether it is playing a role again.

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