Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister think it was fair to write to farmers demanding money back when they still did not know their score? That is one of the big gripes that many farmers have. They got the interim payment and the next contact they had from the Department was not to tell them where they stood or what the future would hold, but a letter demanding some of that money back - in some cases up to 80% of it.

As the Minister is aware, I come from a part of the country where there is low-intensity agriculture. Farmers survive on land that is in an area of natural constraint where we would expect the scores to be quite high, yet they were getting large demands for money back. There is a level of inconsistency here. That is one of the big problems farmers have with every scheme. This scheme has been particularly bad.

When farmers sign up for a scheme, they want to buy a tractor, build a shed or get a loan, knowing in their head that every year they are going to get a certain amount of money from the scheme and that it is going to be there. That is what they expect, yet with this scheme in particular they do not know where they stand. That is one of the difficulties we have. I have a question later on the future of agriculture. As we look to the future for family farming, we must have schemes in place on which farmers can rely. This scheme is certainly one farmers cannot rely on.

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