Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The eligibility criteria with regard to at least two separate landowners being engaged in agricultural or harvesting activity remains a key component of eligibility for the scheme. My priority is to deal with the applications on hand in the local authorities based on the current criteria and to continue to support the rural farming community. Once this backlog of applications is addressed, we can look at widening the criteria.

There are many schemes. My Department is a small one and we do not have a massive budget. The Deputy might urge me to put more money into the scheme. I have put more money into it in the past two years. The baseline is €11 million and it will take time to clear the backlog. The Minister for Transport, however, should be matching the funding I am putting into the LIS because that would mean we would get more done and would be able to look at the criteria more quickly. I have raised the matter with him. I do not know if the Deputy agrees with me but I think if the funding were matched, that would be beneficial. It always came out of the Department of Transport.

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