Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is aware we have our proposed new €1.3 billion programme, which will replace the last one. It is ambitious and has been increased in terms of supports for farmers. It is more cognisant of the impact of forestry on our environment. We have had to factor in all those issues and we believe we have developed a progressive and ambitious programme. We are keen that it is approved as soon as possible. As the Deputy is aware, the new programme is subject to state aid approval. It is also subject to an ongoing strategic environmental assessment and appropriate assessment process, which is well advanced.

Prior to our formal submission, we have been engaging intensively with the Commission. We made the submission last month. I think it was in the middle of April, but I will check the date for the Deputy. Our submission is in the hands of the Commission now. It will work internally. The submission will be sent to the Directorate-General for Competition and it will then engage internally with other directorates-general on it.

While we have not heard anything from the Commission yet, we expect to hear very shortly. We may still have queries to be addressed.

If there are any amendments to be made, we will be able to make them. Ultimately, we are very keen to address this. We know it is frustrating for farmers to wait. It is also frustrating for forestry companies. We flagged in advance that it would take time. This is the process. There is not much we could have done about it. We could not do anything until the new year. We engaged with the Commission to try to progress as much as we could before we made a formal submission. A formal submission has been made and we eagerly await a response from the Commission because we want to get this programme up and running as soon as possible.

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