Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the deadline for spreading has been pushed out to next year. I do not see why a farmer would buy lime now that they potentially will not be able to spread until next year, particularly when many of them do not have the money to do so. The BISS payments will make a big difference but they have just hit farmers' bank accounts. In some cases they have not hit accounts due to satellite imaging and the changes thereto. Some farmers will have to respond with more information in that regard before they get their payment. I am unsure how many farmers have been affected by that issue and have not received a BISS payment as a result but there are people who have not received it. Even a week or two would make a difference. I do not see why a farmer would buy lime to sit in a farmyard until next year when there will potentially be an opportunity to spread it. In many cases, the weather in October did not allowed for it to be spread. I ask the Minister to consider allowing flexibility of a week or two, even just to allow farmers to receive their BISS payments in and give them a little leeway after what has been, as he stated, a challenging and expensive year. I have heard from farmers directly on this matter and they are under pressure financially.

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