Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

This issue has dragged on for ten weeks and caused enormous hardship to farming communities in the west, especially County Galway, not only with respect to permits used for the movement of cattle and the sale of livestock but also with respect to thousands of REPS application forms which have been retained in many offices since last November and not processed. This has led to a denial of substantial amounts of money which form most of the basic income of many farmers. There have also been instances where farm building grants have not been processed. At a time when the Minister for Agriculture and Food is taking farmers and their families to court, he has failed to provide access for farmers to their legitimate entitlements such as moving their cattle to allow them to be sold.

There is a serious concern about diseased herds where cattle have been retained for anything up to six weeks on farms. If the shoe was on the other foot and a farmer retained or asked to retain a diseased animal on his or her farm, he or she would be brought to court and sent to jail. This is an inconsistency that needs to be rectified.

One of the most difficult aspects to understand about this dispute is that, in the past fortnight, senior veterinary officials of the Department in Galway have refused to accede to its legal advice to issue on request the documents required for the movement of cattle. This indicates that senior officials in the Department have taken it upon themselves to defy the instructions of the Minister.

Turmoil of this nature within a Department is not good. The only recourse is for the Minister to take the matter to court. Farmers must be very fed up with such action. They are the meat in the sandwich. As we speak, many farmers are protesting in Galway in order to highlight the hardship many families have endured during the past ten weeks because of the instances I have outlined.