Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As she knows, I have long supported the cohort of farmers known as the forgotten farmers and I have committed to supporting those farmers who find themselves in this situation, through no fault of their own in many cases, and I have committed to addressing this issue. We are working on a tailored support package for these farmers and I want to conclude the process as soon as possible. My Department has developed a preliminary outline of a proposal to provide support to the forgotten farmer group. There are a number of issues to be addressed, for example, the funding required and consistency with public expenditure, before the details of the eligibility requirements and benefits to successful applicants under a scheme can be finalised. Details of the scheme will be made available as soon as this process has been completed.

I am committed to delivering for these farmers, many of whom find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own. It is an important issue. Many of these farmers have missed out on supports that were available to others and we want to ensure they can keep farming. As Minister, I want to ensure that it is recognised that they missed out on those supports. It is a tricky issue to navigate and it is tricky to find an overall package that will deal with it. It is also being done in the context of all the other schemes being rolled out this year and the work that is ongoing with that. The commitment is there that we will resolve the issue. It is an issue that has been going on for many years but farmers can rest assured that we will deal with it and that we are working our way through it.

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