Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. I wish to comment on two things he has said in his response. There are about 1,000 queries on validation and process. That is fair enough. He has to apply the scheme. The Minister has not confirmed this, but according to official figures this week there are more than 2,090 outstanding issues. If 1,000 is subtracted from 2,000 - we will round it off - there are still 1,000 people whom the Minister has not addressed in this response. He says there are 1,000 but we know that research published this week in the Irish Farmers' Journal, which I have shared with the Minister, confirmed that more than 2,000 people have been identified as in need of the money. I am clearly aware of GLAS I and GLAS II and I did not go into any other GLAS systems. I know exactly where the Minister is coming from and I fully understand the GLAS I and GLAS II schemes and that they are the only two schemes eligible for payment in respect of 2016.

I thank the Minister. The important thing is to keep the communication going and perhaps to promote the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine through the Irish Farmers' Journaland other agricultural methods of communication, including the agriculture websites. Clearly there is a lot of misunderstanding and frustration and many people are saying that they will not sign up to another scheme in the future. That is a remarkable pity because this is a really good scheme. I thank the Minister and I would appreciate if he could keep the communication with the farming community in general going, which I know he is committed to doing. There is concern and frustration and people are out of pocket. I thank the Minister for his time.