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

The Minister will be aware of the comments of the European Commissioner, Mr. Hogan, who several months ago said one of his aims was to streamline and minimise the level of bureaucracy and regulation which is strangling people. A farmer would want to have a PhD to get through it, given nutrient plans, the need for cross-compliance and everything else. Most of this stuff is absolutely silly. I have a brother at home who is farming. I would not take it up now and I have a master's degree in agriculture. Half of it is nonsense and it is time to cut it out. I have a case in which a farmer has land that is about 15 cm away from where trees should be sowed and the decision in the case is now being appealed. The Minister should cut out the nonsense and tell those responsible to kop themselves on. It makes no sense to put stuff back to within a few centimetres of where it is. That is the problem and the reason for the difficulty. If a case does not fit into the nice seamless system in the Department, the officials are on the back of the unfortunate farmer in the middle of somewhere. A farmer in suckler cow country does not have much income at this time of the year and getting a few shillings under this scheme could be critical.

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