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

In light of all that, I ask the Minister to check with the Department how many of the more than 38,000 farmers who applied to the scheme have submitted receipts. Farmers are under pressure and input costs have never been higher. There were delays to the BISS, as the Minister acknowledged, due to this being the first year of the new CAP. It is fine for the Minister to say that but farmers are under pressure to buy lime before next Tuesday and leave it to sit it in a yard where it cannot be spread in the first place. Will the Minister check how many farmers have submitted receipts? That will allow him to see if there is pressure there, as I believe there is, and decide whether there can be a level of flexibility. A week would make a difference, particularly for farmers who are receiving a BISS payment.

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