My colleague and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on agriculture, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, raised the issue of slurry spreading yesterday morning. The Taoiseach said that individual cases could be looked at and facilitated, particularly in areas where conditions had been very severe. Yesterday, a memo was sent by the Department to all county councils in the country reminding them that the closed season for slurry spreading commenced last Saturday, 15 October, and that, contrary to some localised public commentary, the Minister had not announced any extensions of the spreading period or any individualised exemptions. It said that it had come to the Department's attention that inquiries from farmers in relation to an extension had been received by some district veterinary officers and that, as the responsible authority, any such queries should be forwarded to the relevant local authority for attention. It went on to request that this e-mail be brought to the attention of any staff that might be dealing with this matter.

I ask the Taoiseach to ask the Minister to clarify this, once and for all, as we are making fools of people.

I ask the Minister to respond.

The deadline for spreading slurry closed on 15 October. In emergency circumstances, the Department is in a position to accommodate farmers who make contact with the Department through its emergency procedures, which are shown on its website. The question of an extension is not one for my Department but one for the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. We can deal with cases on an individual basis.