Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No.62 amends section 73. There was concern that, while I indicated that there would not be new fees or charges imposed on farmers arising from the Animal Health and Welfare Bill, some future Minister might use the Bill as a vehicle to impose charges on farmers. Therefore, there is now a safeguard in place that states that such a charge cannot be bigger than the cost of the service to which it relates. This seems like a reasonable approach. It should be stressed that the reality is that the majority of services provided by the State to the agricultural sector, such as inspection of animals or laboratory tests, are provided free of charge or for charges which are far lower than the actual cost of such services. Essentially, the Bill provides that the Department must provide services at cost and cannot charge for profit. No future Minister can impose a charge which includes a profit. Any service the Department provides, such as inspections, for which there is a charge, the charge cannot be higher than the cost of delivering the service, which is sensible. There is no intention to increase charges from my perspective. If charges are to be introduced or increased, that will have to be discussed and negotiated with the relevant stakeholders. We are not in the business of adding to people's costs at the moment.