Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted that the Bill has reached this point. I compliment the Minister on guiding it through the various Stages up to now, both in the House and at the agriculture committee. Farmers have waited a long time for this Bill. The fact that there will be far more representation on the appeals board will bring confidence that people will get a fair hearing. Some farmers can feel very aggrieved and can feel very hard done by following an inspection. Provision is made for oral appeals.

The oral appeal hearings, in general, worked well but the fact a farmer can now go to this and have farm representation and a fairly representative body will hear his case is most welcome. For many farmers, the single farm payment is their income and a significant penalty on that can have huge financial implications for farm families.

This Bill has been talked about for many a day. It is great we are finally passing it. I look forward to seeing it in operation. As public representatives, we will probably be at some of the hearings when it gets up and running, as we have been at many oral hearings in the past. This is a good Bill. It had cross-party support in the agriculture committee, which I chair. There were no dissenting voices and it was remarkable that on Committee Stage there were no amendments to the Bill the Minister brought forward. It showed the universal approval that was there for the Bill and the fact it is long awaited. I hope it will give farmers confidence they will have every opportunity to present their case to some of their peers, which is important. The Minister has delivered on this. Many others said we would get this Bill. We had it on our last manifesto and I am delighted that tonight it will be passed into law.

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