Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Leader is aware, this is an important issue in rural Ireland. It must be dealt with as a stand-alone farming issue to address current inequality. I will not allow the waters to be muddied by bringing other farming issues into the mix. During the most recent negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy, small farmers in the west were told not to worry about what would happen in Pillar 1 and to allow bigger farms to receive bigger payments because this would be made up in Pillar 2 under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS. It was not made up, however. The same excuse has been given since 2001 and the reference years on the single farm payment. Farmers trying to farm on land in disadvantaged areas and areas of natural constraint need to receive payments.

I refer to another farming-related issue, namely, the independent appeals mechanism in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which I may also raise as a Commencement matter. It is taking up to four years to process appeals through the office. This is not right as payments are being held up for up to four years. The reason for the delay is that under legislation, only one director in the appeals office can handle appeals. This must change and I will write to the Minister today seeking a change. I am shocked that only one director can deal with claims that cause farmers' payments to be delayed for years.