Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I apologise again for the absence of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, who is in America on important Government business. He, like all other Ministers, had to make difficult decisions because of the budgetary constraints. However, he has prioritised a number of schemes, notably the suckler welfare scheme and the rural environment protection scheme. Regarding the former, the Minister has asked me to assure the House that the commitment entered into in partnership with the Government and the farm organisations to provide €250 million over five years is being honoured in full. This is a new stream of farm income and the first year's payment of €77 million to approximately 54,000 farmers will be paid over the next few months. While the rate of payment will have to be reduced for the remainder of the scheme given the exceptional levels of participation, the €250 million has been protected and will be paid in full.

The Minister has also provided record funding of €355 million for REPS in 2009. This ensures that those joining REPS 4 as either new entrants or transferees from REPS 2 and REPS 3 will benefit from a 17% increase on the level of payments under REPS 4.

Having prioritised certain schemes, reductions have to be made in others and, very reluctantly, the Minister reduced expenditure under the disadvantaged area payments scheme for 2009. Of the 102,000 participants in the scheme, the reduced expenditure will affect only those with more than 34 hectares or 82 acres. It is estimated that approximately 65,000 farmers will experience no reduction in their payments and given that the average holding is 31 hectares, the average participant in the scheme will not be affected at all. Significantly, the Department will still pay €220 million to more than 100,000 farmers in 2009.

The young farmers' installation aid scheme and the early retirement package have been suspended, not terminated, and it is important to make that point. In 2009, as the Minister of State outlined, €3.2 billion will be spent by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in support of the agricultural industry. By any standard this is a substantial commitment by the Government and the EU to the Irish agrifood sector for the coming year. The Government is funding the most ambitious and generous on-farm investment scheme in the history of the State, through which €615 million of taxpayers' money will have been paid for the farm waste management scheme between 2007 and 2009. There have been calls to extend the scheme and Members of the Oireachtas on all sides have been contacted in this regard by various interest groups, including farmers, builders, etc. However, the Minister reluctantly cannot extend the scheme, he told me, because he does not have the money to do so. It is important to put that on the record of the House.

The Minister has also assured me that disadvantaged area payments, installation aid and early retirement schemes will be reviewed at a very early date. I want it on the record of the House that I met representatives of the county executive of the Irish Farmers Association in Cavan. They put their case very calmly and coolly to me and I have made representations to the Minister in that regard. I want to state also that a public meeting for five counties was held in Cootehill, County Cavan, some weeks ago, at which I could not attend at such short notice and I sent my apologies. I regret that those apologies were not conveyed to the public meeting and I want to put it on the record of the House that I am disappointed with that fact.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and outlining in great detail the situation regarding agriculture. I thank my colleagues in Fine Gael for tabling this very important motion.