Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if in view of time constraints surrounding planning permission, the availability of contractors and health and safety concerns, he will extend the deadline for the completion of the farm waste management and farm improvement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19897/08]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputies Creed and Sherlock for their good wishes.

The revised farm waste management scheme was introduced by my Department in March 2006 in order to assist farmers meet the additional requirements of the nitrates directive. Under the scheme, a standard grant-rate of 60% — 70% in the four zone C counties — is available to farmers who complete the required investment works. The importance of this scheme for rural Ireland generally and for the protection of the environment cannot be overestimated and provides concrete evidence of the Government's continuing commitment to the agricultural sector in Ireland. Some €114 million was spent on the scheme in 2007 and payment claims substantially in excess of this figure are expected in 2008.

The success of the scheme is evidenced by the fact that 48,580 applications were received from farmers before the closing date of end December 2006. To date, more than 41,000 approvals have issued to farmers to commence work under the scheme. The remaining applications have either been withdrawn, are awaiting the receipt of full planning permission or are explained by the receipt of multiple applications from a single farmer. My Department is continuing to issue approvals on an ongoing basis as confirmation of the receipt of full planning permission is received from applicants and has already written to local authorities acknowledging the major contribution which they have made to this process and reminding them of the importance of the end-2008 deadline for completion of works under the scheme.

The end-2008 deadline is a condition of the EU state aid approval governing the scheme, and I would urge farmers to complete the works and submit a payment claim to my Department by end-2008 so that they can qualify for the generous grants available. The end-December 2008 deadline does not apply in the case of the farm improvement scheme, and farmers who are granted approval to commence work under that scheme are normally given a period of two years to complete the relevant investments. I do not propose to alter these arrangements.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I invite the Minister to take a look at his response in his spare time because he spends five minutes praising the scheme and gives the information requested in the question in the last 30 seconds.

The highly-geared construction industry, in 2006, achieved something like 80,000 house units and we are expecting the agricultural construction sector to meet 40,000 applications under the farm waste management scheme in something like an 18 month period. There is no way that deadline can be met. Either thousands of farmers will lose out in terms of their financial entitlements under the scheme, or shortcuts will be taken. As the former Minister of State with responsibility for health and safety, I am sure Deputy Killeen is aware of the dangers from on-farm accidents as well as accidents in the construction industry.

I do not want to see, at the end of this year, farmers being exposed to dangers because of deadlines that are beyond their capacity and that of their agricultural contractors. I implore the Minister of State to revisit this deadline before it is too late. This sector simply does not have the capacity to deliver on that deadline — in terms of the ordering of galvanise, cubicles, slatted units, shuttering etc. It simply is not possible to achieve the deadline at the end of this year. I implore the Minister of State to recognise the problem at this early date and negotiate a realistic extension of the deadline.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Creed made the point that much of the information was contained in the last paragraph of my reply. In fact, all the information about the numbers involved in the scheme is in the prior elements. Two schemes, in fact, were mentioned in the question, the farm waste management and the farm improvement schemes. The latter is not affected by the end of year deadline in this instance.

The Deputy also makes the point about the health and safety element of the construction industry and this is obviously a requirement that needs to be adhered to, and in my view it can be, quite comfortably. As regards the construction industry, the Deputy is right that in excess of 80,000 units were built in 2006 and the outturn for this year will probably be somewhere less than half that. There has been considerable speculation as regards the numbers being made unemployed in the construction sector by spokesmen from his and other parties. I do not have a concern therefore as regards manpower——

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Apples and oranges, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, apples and oranges.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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In this instance, it is an enormously important scheme from an environmental viewpoint. It is contributing hugely to the improvement of investment on farms and the environment. I am satisfied that farmers who have their approvals will be in a position to complete the works.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister of State saying that at this stage he and his Department have no intention of seeking an extension? I accept it is not entirely within his hands, for a concession to be granted. However, does he expect that all of the applications on hand under the farm waste management scheme can be completed safely, to the appropriate standard, within that timeframe?

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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All the evidence currently available to the Department suggests the works can be completed within the timescale. It would be extraordinarily unhelpful to give any signal at this stage that the timescale was being reviewed, in view of the facts as outlined by the Deputy.