John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this very important issue with the Minister for Agriculture and Food. I am disappointed the Minister is not here in person as I know thousands of farmers affected by this would have loved for him to answer this question once and for all.

I will highlight two problems relating to the farm waste management scheme introduced two years ago to much fanfare in the Department that are causing panic in the farming community around the country, including my constituency of Mayo. More than 20,000 farmers countrywide who have been approved for funding under the scheme face the impossible task of trying to complete the approved work before the expiration of the approved deadline, which has been set by the Department as 31 December 2008.

I will briefly outline some of the history of the issue. The fault for this impossible task lies firmly with the Government because it put in place a system which was clearly unable to cope with the significant demand that could have been expected in 2006. Despite asking for and receiving an extended deadline, the Government failed to speed up the application process and granting of funds for buildings under this scheme. This has greatly curtailed the time available for farmers to complete the approved works. In doing so, this has left Irish farmers at a distinct disadvantage to EU counterparts.

The progress of such works over the summer months has been confounded by certain unforeseen circumstances, most notably the inclement weather that has seen us having our wettest summer for over 70 years. The Government's misjudgment, inaction and mismanagement of the scheme in this way has seriously affected farmers, as is evidenced by the many queries received by my office and clinics in Mayo and the experience of all Deputies from rural constituencies from all sides of the House to whom I have spoken.

I have also been informed by my MEP colleague, Mr. Jim Higgins, that the Minister has informed him there are no plans to seek a further extension of the scheme. This problem has wider implications than those for the farming community. If no extension is granted to the impossible deadline, thousands more people will be laid off from building industries in January 2009. As well as supporting the farming community, will the Minister remove the risk to these construction jobs at a time when the housing crisis has already caused havoc in the sector? He can do so by going to Europe to seek a deadline extension.

The second issue relating to the farm waste management scheme is the delay in payment by the Department to farmers who have already completed their projects. I have been inundated with queries from farmers put under severe pressure by banks and lending institutions for money they rightly assumed they should get once the approved work was inspected and complete.

On contacting the relevant section in the Department, officials admitted they had been waiting for months for cheques to be signed off. We have all heard rumours to the effect that all funding for the scheme has been drawn down and no one will be paid between now and December. I call on the Minister to urgently clarify the position. Will he confirm that the farmers in question will be paid immediately?

I attended a meeting in Crossmolina, County Mayo, last night attended by 400 angry farmers who have taken many hits over the years. The issue last night was the closure of the Teagasc office in the town and its transfer to the urban setting of Ballina. The issue is on the Minister's desk. The 400 farmers who attended last night's meeting are an example of members of a rural community who have given their lives to farming and need our support now more than ever. The Minister is not paying them what they are due and he is depriving them of the opportunity to meet the deadlines for the farm waste management scheme. Now he is closing the Teagasc office in Crossmolina. I urge him, once and for all, to stand up and be counted on these major issues.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, is unable to attend the debate because he was detained longer than he had anticipated fulfilling engagements in Kilkenny as a result of the decision by the Fine Gael Party to refuse a pair today to allow him to undertake important work at the national ploughing championships.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to clarify the current position regarding the end of 2008 deadline for completion of work under the revised farm waste management scheme. The revised scheme was introduced by the Department in March 2006 to assist farmers to meet the additional requirements of the nitrates directive. The amendments to the scheme included, in particular, an increase in the standard grant rate from the previous 40% to 60%, with 70% being available in the four zone C counties of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim and Monaghan. In addition, the new scheme provided for an increase in the maximum eligible investment ceiling from €75,000 to €120,000 and removed any minimum income requirements from farming from the scheme in order that all small farmers could participate in the scheme.

The immense success of the farm waste management scheme is demonstrated by the 48,580 applications received from farmers by the closing date of the end of December 2006, of which more than 30,000 were received during the final month. More than 42,200 approvals to commence work have issued to date to farmers under the scheme, with the remaining applications either having been withdrawn, refused planning permission or explained by the receipt of multiple applications from a single farmer.

The financial commitment of the Government to the farm waste management scheme is substantial, particularly during these challenging economic times. This is demonstrated by the fact that to date in 2008, €181.8 million has been paid out to farmers under the scheme compared to €21 million in 2006 and €114 million in 2007. The Department is continuing to process payments under the scheme and I hardly need to confirm again that all farmers who complete investment works in accordance with the terms and conditions of the scheme will be paid their full entitlements.

There is no doubt the farm waste management scheme has dramatically transformed the Irish farming infrastructure through this major injection of capital and will leave the sector well positioned to meet the highest international environmental standards required of Irish farming, as well as changing market requirements. It will also continue to strengthen the competitiveness of Irish agriculture.

The deadline of 31 December 2008 for completion of investment works under the scheme is a condition of the EU state aid approval governing the scheme and the European Commission has recently reaffirmed that it expects Ireland to respect this deadline strictly. It should be noted that the farm waste management scheme has been in place since March 2006.

The terms and conditions of the scheme make it clear that payment of grant aid is conditional on the time limit being respected and the Department has consistently held this position since the commencement of the scheme. The Department is issuing its second written reminder to all farmers approved to commence work under the scheme to ensure all work is completed and a payment claim submitted to the Department by the end of this year. No farmer can therefore be unaware of the importance of meeting this deadline.

I thank the Deputy again for giving me an opportunity to clarify the current position on this matter.