Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to the Deputy. ACRES is a hugely important agri-environment scheme and we have seen a massive amount of ambition from Irish farmers in this, with 46,000 of them signing up for it. It was a big undertaking for us in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to make sure we could facilitate that oversubscription because originally there were only 30,000 places available. We made it clear at that time that timelines are tight to make sure we get people paid. I take the Deputy's point of view on the app on board. I will bring that back to my officials and raise that point but I am hugely cognisant that what is important to the farmers and advisers who are undertaking all these measures is that they get paid this year and that they get paid when they expect to get paid. Any delays in the process have a knock-on impact in terms of pay and that is why getting the app right is really important. I will bring that point back as well as the Deputy's point on cobalt.

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