Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 3: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the nature of an ongoing industrial dispute relating to his Department (details supplied); if this dispute will have an impact on the prompt delivery of REP scheme payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37774/08]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Agricultural officers in my Department who are members of the IMPACT union commenced industrial action on 6 October. IMPACT alleges that the Department has acted in breach of Towards 2016 by not informing the union in advance of changes in work practices. IMPACT has instructed its members to work to rule; not to undertake overtime; not to undertake tasks or functions associated with posts which have not been filled; not to participate in or co-operate with activities connected to what IMPACT terms "imposed changes"; and not to attend meetings with sectional management. It has also been indicated by IMPACT that other phased action is being planned.

My Department has indicated its readiness to avail of the conciliation and arbitration processes provided for in Towards 2016. However, IMPACT is unwilling to engage in this process, citing the need for additional expertise over and above that available under the conciliation and arbitration scheme. The assistance of the National Implementation Body has been sought on the matter and a meeting will take place tomorrow as a matter of urgency. My Department is also monitoring the effect of the industrial action on the processing of REPS payments and is seeking to ensure prompt delivery of these payments.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that an issue as complex as industrial relations will not be resolved on the floor of the House, although I do hope it can be resolved promptly. I seek an assurance from the Minister of State that REPS 4 applicants who applied before 15 May and are now caught in the crossfire will not have their payments delayed unduly.

On a related matter, which probably goes to the heart of the industrial dispute, will the Minister comment on the EU audit inspection of REPS payments in Ireland? Will he confirm to the House that the State is facing a fine which was originally predicted to be €100 million but may be revised downwards to around €60 million? Has budgetary provision been made in the Department this year for such an eventuality?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That is slightly outside the scope of the question.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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It is related to the dispute because this issue is at the heart of it.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I will allow the Minister of State to explain, but the information may not be available to him.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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It is a complex issue and I am not quite sure it is at the heart of the dispute. There may be other consequences arising from the dispute. In fact, we are dealing with more than 100 schemes here. Obviously, REPS and the farm waste management scheme are two of the highest profile schemes and we do not want to see any delays in these. I am hopeful that resolution of the dispute will ensure that payments under these two schemes in particular, as well as all the other schemes, are issued in a timely manner. This is one of the reasons for the importance of resolving this dispute as quickly as possible. Under EU requirements, no REPS 4 payments can be made until all 11,400 applications submitted in 2008 have been checked. As matters stand, some two thirds of all applications have not yet been processed to finality, and the current action is a major factor in this regard. Hence, the Deputy will agree it is vital that all involved enter into this dialogue in as positive a frame of mind as possible, because we do not want collateral damage arising from this dispute to make life even more difficult than it already is for farmers who are awaiting payments.

The Deputy mentioned REPS compliance inspections. All I can say is that the inspections ceased in 2008 and IMPACT has since sought their reintroduction on the grounds that their discontinuation without prior consultation was a breach of the provisions in Towards 2016. To date, the Department has refused to reintroduce the inspections on the basis that their reintroduction cannot be justified given the findings of the EU auditors. The Deputy could say we are caught in a dilemma as we are trying not to go against the EU auditors while remaining positively disposed to dealing with the grievances that have been articulated. With more than 100 schemes in question, the union's request that it be informed of every change in the manner sought does raise practical issues. We must approach this in a practical manner.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am alarmed by the Minister's response, which indicated that at this late stage two thirds of REPS 4 applicants have yet to be processed and that this will delay all REPS 4 payments. The Minister needs to recognise the urgency of the situation and to assist in every way possible in bringing about a resolution. Farmers should not be used as a bargaining chip between the trade unions which have a grievance and the Department, which is the employer of the technical agricultural officers.

I ask the Minister again about the EU audit and the fines to be imposed on the State. I cannot accept that the Minister would not have this information available to him, as it is a directly related issue. What provision is in the agriculture Estimate this year for that likely outcome? Will he quantify the amount of the fine?

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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I reiterate that this matter is being dealt with. The Deputy is right. It is an urgent matter but in working on this draft today the reply has changed in the time since I first saw it. It referred to arranging a meeting as a matter of urgency and now, as I have been able to tell the Deputy, the meeting will take place tomorrow. I understand it will be at 2 p.m. but I ask the Deputy not to hold me to that. It has to happen, and the national inspection body chaired by the Government Secretary General, Dermot McCarthy, is to ensure that meeting goes ahead. The urgency of it is beyond question, and I hope that can be taken as such.

All I can say to the Deputy is that audits take place all the time. The figure he cited is news to me. I am not sure what his source of information is but if it was to be mentioned I would have been given information of that sort. The reply I have read is the reply I have been given.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister come back to me with the detail on it?

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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I will find out if there is missing information.