Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The good weather is causing lots of problems for farmers and for other sections of society. Apart from that, there are hardship cases made to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on a regular basis. One lady, Maria from Emly in County Tipperary, is sick with cancer. Her husband also has cancer. Maria applied for a basic payment scheme in 2015. They have a very small holding that supports one small business. Maria augments her income with a delicatessen which she takes to country markets and so on. These people are being ignored by the Department and I have been writing on their behalf. There is no empathy in the Department for situations like this. There are many cases such as this that have GLAS payments waiting. While we might have sympathy about different issues there are real hardship cases being made to the Department. Will the Taoiseach please ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Michael Creed, to deal with this particular case? The case has been under appeal since 2015 with absolutely no result and no engagement from the Department at senior level. This is totally unfair to a family that is struggling with ill health and a small holding.

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