John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Coffey for sharing his time. Like Senator McFadden, I raised this matter on the Order of Business last week and this week I am seeking a full debate. Like the previous speakers I come from a rural constituency, Carlow-Kilkenny, and I know of a great deal of people affected by the Government announcement that the outstanding grants will be paid over a three-year period rather than in one year. This is a severe imposition on those affected, many of whom are young farmers who are losing their installation aid grant and whose parents or predecessors cannot avail of the pension scheme. The same people are being affected by this announcement.

Surely someone in the Department realised that there would be many applications for this scheme. I have two brothers, both of whom are full-time farmers and who availed of the scheme. I find it amazing that the Department's excuse was that there was an underestimate of how many people would apply for the scheme. It smacks of what happens when the medical card for those over 70 was introduced. The Government later said it did not know how many people over 70 would take up the offer. The same excuses are being used at this time. It is a difficult time for anyone involved in business and farmers are business people. If they have a bridging loan to pay for the construction of these sheds, they have repayments to meet and it is not much consolation to the bank manager in the current climate to be told that the Government has changed its mind mid-stream and that the scheme will be repaid over three years rather than one. As Senator Coffey pointed out, these people are in serious financial difficulty because the cash flow situation is not too hectic. I hope this can be improved and that additional funds can be found. In the overall scheme of things this is not a huge sum of money. I realise that money is tight across the board but perhaps some can be found to rectify the situation.