Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are funds which the Minister has said are not drawn down but he has not given an indication about what level of funding is involved in that. We know approximately €20 million is approved. What is the other amount that has not been drawn down yet because of the uncertainty about whether it will go ahead? What value is there on that? When will farmers be able to draw down funding from that scheme that was announced a year and a half ago?

We saw when the euro was introduced that people had money in hand, there was a long lead-in time, people had certainty, understood it and were comfortable with it. When there was foot and mouth, people rowed in behind because they had information and understood what it meant, and there was great goodwill behind it. There is a significant gap here with the Brexit schemes. Is the Minister putting out enough information for those companies to be able to access and adequately draw down from those schemes? Is the fact that the Minister has had to come with a third tranche that we understand will be announced later in the week not an acknowledgement that the schemes that are there have not delivered or been adequate? Was it misunderstood that there was a large vulnerability there?

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