Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for acknowledging that there is ongoing dialogue with the local authorities. The scheme has been changed. It did require two herd numbers but that has now been moved to one. I take from what the Senator is saying to me that he believes the scheme should be changed from a requirement to have the land parcel size of 1 ha so that a number of land parcels can be aggregated together. If the Senator makes a proposal in that regard, writes it down and sends it, I will make sure that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, gets it and that she can consider that in her discussions with the local authority. The Senator can see from the reply I have read that this rule about having 1 ha is a recommendation to local authorities and the local authorities have the final decision-making power. There is therefore discretion for local authorities to consider how they spend the money that is allocated to them. There is a recommendation, and they should follow recommendations, but they do have the final decision-making power. The Senator might also engage with local authorities directly to remind them that is the official answer. It is a recommendation, but they have the final decision-making power. I thank the Senator for raising this issue, which I understand better now that he has explained it to me this morning. I will bring his recommendation back to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, if he can send a proposal to me.