asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has any plans to extend the farm rescue package for farmers in severe financial difficulty to take in the merchant banks.

Because of severe constraints on Exchequer resources, it is not proposed to extend the reduced interest scheme for farmers in severe financial difficulty to cover borrowings from lending institutions other than the associated banks and the Agricultural Credit Corporation.

Can the Minister tell me the amount of money allocated to the farm rescue package for the current year?

It is expected that the total amount of money allocated will be used up.

Does the Minister have the amount of money allocated?

The scheme is confined to the four associated banks — the Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks, the Ulster Bank and the Northern Bank — with the Agricultural Credit Corporation. Each financial institution has a quota of eligible borrowings — the ACC £70 million, the Bank of Ireland, £62 million, AIB £45 million, the Northern Bank £6 million and the Ulster Bank £7 million.

Does the Minister not agree that the scheme operates most unfairly against farmers who borrow through the merchant banks rather than the associated banks? Is there some reason for not extending it to the merchant banks?

Not that I know of, and I agree with the Deputy's sentiments. I think the Minister, in reply to a similar question last week, did indicate he would have a look at that problem, but as of now I have no further information.

Is the Minister aware that the merchant banks are making it very difficult for farmers in financial difficulty, that the harassment by merchant banks is very serious? Would the Minister use his influence with the merchant bank groups in order that they would have a more sympathetic approach to farmers in difficulty?

I would be only too delighted to do that. I might add that I have been having meetings with the other banks and we are making a lot of progress.

(Limerick West): Would the Minister of State indicate to the House the result of talks, if any, the Minister himself had with the associated banks to speed up the processing of the rescue package?

I met the banks myself last week on the whole question of the rescue package. When one gets down to it it is discovered that basically it is a question of people not filling in forms, a question of the customer not doing his job properly. They are prepared to work as quickly as possible to expedite the scheme and also to look sympathetically at anybody who, in conjunction with his ACOT adviser, puts up reasonable proposals.

The Minister in replying said that the farmers were not co-operating with the institutions in the completion of forms. I believe the position to be the reverse. I believe that the majority of bank managers are not prepared to co-operate with farmers, that they just do not want to implement the provisions of the scheme, that all they are interested in doing is selling out farmers.

In some instances about which I asked it was a case of the data not having been supplied.

They did not talk about big profits, did they?

In view of the almost £2 million of taxpayers' money being allocated to this scheme in the current year, does the Minister of State not think that the Department of Agriculture and the Minister should have some say in the processing of this scheme, because it appears that it is left almost totally to the banks?

Of course they are working under fairly strict terms of reference which have been more or less agreed.

Is the Minister aware that when a Deputy makes representations about this scheme he is told that it is administered by the banks? In view of the almost £2 million of taxpayers' money being allocated to this scheme I contend that the Department and the Minister in particular should have some say in its processing.

Certainly we shall have a look at it. It is correct to say that the scheme is administered by the financial institutions. I might add that the accounts of the lending institutions will be subject to audit by the Department of Agriculture and the Comptroller and Auditor General.