Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No doubt from listening to farmers himself, the Minister does grasp that the important issue is that there is something done for people in a gap year so they are not just left in a vacuum. I also welcome his statement that he will examine any anomalies that arose in the process and in the criteria. If there is an issue, maybe farmers could access their application again over a short period so their planners could address the issue because it could affect the amount they receive. I have heard that from a number of planners in the past couple of days and rather than trying to reinvent the wheel or look for another extension, there could be a mechanism by which these issues could be resolved. As the Minister said, this is a scheme for farmers, and for the environment and it is very popular. He had to extend because there was demand for it and the planners were flat out, the farmers were flat out and the Department was flat out trying to cope with all of that. Hopefully this will be good for farmers. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating but at least farmers are engaging, which they always said they would do, and that is a positive sign.

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