Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

When I assumed this role. it was not acceptable to me to meet so many farmers where in many instances, the fault was with the Department. In some instances it was with themselves for various reasons but in the majority of cases, it has been on our side. I have visited Johnstown Castle and have engaged directly with the officials. I have directed additional resources into the units. I have got down into the detail of the different cohorts and how they are affected. One reason it takes time to fix this is that I am not willing to have a quick fix that needs a manual intervention every year. I want to make sure that the resolution here means that this problem does not recur every year. That is why we are getting through this and I stick to the commitments I made previously to resolve this as quickly as possible.

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