Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is saying there will be an underspend, but he will not reopen the scheme to allow new applicants to avail of the underspend. He seems to be telling us that he will move the funds to other schemes. It would be disappointing if that were to be the case. As we have said, many farmers who are not in the scheme could benefit from it if they had an opportunity to participate in it. I would like to refer to other schemes that might come into play. All of this is relevant to the debate we will have later today. Farming in Ireland is more onerous than farming in other jurisdictions with which we are trying to do deals. The pressure on farmers to comply with rules and regulations under the various schemes in place is brought into sharp focus in that context. Will farmers have to carry out similarly onerous tasks under the €100 million scheme about which Deputy McConalogue asked? All the schemes are doing is giving farmers a little extra money to keep them afloat. The beef sector in Ireland is in dire straits. Many beef farmers will depend on this and other schemes. If they have no possibility of making a profit from their farming activities without such schemes, we are in a very difficult place

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