Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not a farmer but I would say even the farming community is extremely confused. It sounds cumbersome. There are a number of steps to take to access what should be a simple scheme. More paperwork and more bureaucracy is not going to help farmers considering the pressure they are under on a daily basis in doing their job. I urge the Minister to take up the straightforward proposal made by my colleague, Deputy McConalogue, for the meal voucher, which gets to the heart of the problem. It would help fund the increased use of cereal-based concentrated feeds on farms in the worse affected areas and allow farmers to reduce significantly their requirement for grass-based fodder, which is also in short supply. I urge the Minister to make it simple and not cumbersome or complicated. Farmers need to get this money as soon as possible.

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