Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

I appreciate the Minister of State's reply but it simply is not good enough for the farmers who have once again found themselves excluded. It is a double rejection. The Minister of State has confirmed 1,254 applications were received and I acknowledge that is a start but we both know the estimated number of those eligible was about 3,000. That leaves close to 1,700 farmers with no recourse. If the Government is serious about fairness and paying what is genuinely owed, there must be a second chance, whether through a short opening of the application portal or through a supplementary scheme. These farmers must be accommodated, otherwise we are sending a clear message that the forgotten farmers are again being forgotten. I ask that a full breakdown of the applications be published showing people who took an interest in the earlier scheme in May and the difference between that number and how many applications were received in August. More importantly, I ask the Minister to commit to exploring a mechanism to ensure these eligible farmers are not left behind.