Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and am grateful for the opportunity to speak.

It is important that we continue to work through this crisis in supporting the farming sector, including the beef sector, which has been under pressure for the past number of months.

One of the issues raised with me is that farmers have a small window for improving their infrastructure, for example, with sheds, and drawing down finance do so. The planning laws have been extended by 40 days. Some farmers are encountering difficulties with routine planning applications in drawing down finance for that short window. This is in the new legislation and I ask the Minister to look at whether anything can be done to expedite that.

It is important to get the marts up and running in a safe manner and to get a trading environment going for the farmers. That is another critical issue, one which I have discussed with the Minister in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath.

In terms of any payments that can be expedited from Europe, while the overall basket will not change, cashflow is key at this difficult time. I would support any improvements that can be made in that regard. As we all know, cashflow is the lifeblood of any business. As we get the economy and agriculture sector back up slowly, we need to ensure these businesses have timely access to cash. I thank the Minister for progressing the European and national efforts to try to get support for all these measures.

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