John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

All I can do is take back what the Deputy has said to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne. I cannot give an indication of whether an application, if made, would be accepted. That would have to go through, I assume, an assessment process. It is not within my remit so I am not fully au fait with the process that would be involved.

I re-emphasise that we are trying to progress the 118 applications still in the system and that €7.3 million has been paid out to 329 families under the scheme. I appreciate the comments the Deputy has made. I understand the importance of this from the cultural, economic and ecological points of view. The strategy to protect raised bogs dates back to 1999, long before either of us was involved in politics. I will take the Deputy's comments back to both Ministers. I assure him we are prioritising the applications in front of us under the compensation scheme. I suggest that if the Deputy formally writes to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, we can get an official response to the comments he has raised.

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