I raise the issue of supports for the farming community. As we know, we have had a pretty brutal winter and there has been almost incessant rain for the past six to seven months. A lot of supports are required to help our farming community through this difficult patch because it has really disrupted the normal farm routine. For instance, we still have animals in sheds and slatted units full of slurry. We have fertiliser that has not been spread and crops that have not been sown. I acknowledge the small progress that has occurred over recent weeks and the additional supports from the State, particularly for the horticulture, potato and tillage sectors. That is to be welcomed for sure.

The big takeaway for me and, I suspect, everybody in the Chamber is that the weather patterns are changing. It is only the start of the Irish summer, but we should already have an eye towards the Irish winter in about six or seven months' time. The big issue for us is cash flow. It is the lifeblood of any small business, household or small farm, the original Irish SMEs. Issues regarding cash flow include the predictability of farm payments, something that has been mentioned to the Minister on previous occasions. He said we are above average from an EU point of view. However, if, for example, a State employer did not pay its PAYE workers at the appropriate regular time, that would be completely unacceptable. Farmers should be treated exactly the same. There should be zero tolerance for any kind of slippage from a payment point of view. What is the reason for the slippage in payments? Are there not enough staff in the Department of agriculture? Is there a problem with the IT system? Is it a combination of both?

On the labelling of payments, a normal bank statement for a farmer shows money coming in from the Department, which is true and to be welcomed, but it is difficult to track what a payment is for, whether it is for BISS, ACRES or TAMS. We have excellent traceability from a farm produce point of view. Perhaps we could have the same traceability from a farm payments point of view.

Fodder support is another issue. One of the reasons we have muddled through the past few months is because there was surplus silage and haylage in the country due to prudent planning over the past couple of years through the fodder support scheme. That cushion has been completely exhausted and depleted and needs to be replenished as soon as possible. Are there plans for a new fodder support scheme for 2024? Farmers are making plans for the summer about whether to cut silage. We know the scheme last year was capped at €100 per hectare for a total of 10 ha. If there is to be a scheme, would the Minister consider increasing the cap beyond 10 ha to 20 ha or 25 ha?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It has been a challenging spring for all farming sectors. That has come on the back of a very difficult autumn last year. We have just come out of one of the longest and most unprecedented wintering periods we have seen for a long time, lasting almost seven months from last September until now, in many instances. That has made it very difficult for livestock farmers, in particular. Farmers have been very supportive of one another in local communities and neighbourhoods, which is important. That has been crucial because farming can be quite solitary, in particular when people are handling the pressures themselves within the farm gate. I acknowledge the support farmers have given to one another and the challenging times they have gone through.

As a Government, we have worked to try to support the sector to come through this period. I moved to pause all inspections, for example, so that farmers would have one less thing to be concerned about until 22 April. I tasked Teagasc with the role of co-ordinating support and linking farmers who had fodder available with those who needed it. I acknowledge the role of the fodder and food security committee, under the chairmanship of Mike Magan, who worked closely with Professor Frank O'Mara and Dr. Stan Lalor from Teagasc. They provided support to farm stakeholders in terms of monitoring the situation.

In the past two or three weeks, I introduced a transport subsidy to move fodder from one part of the country to others where it is needed, which was important. Most recently, I made a commitment to the tillage sector, which is of particular importance in the Deputy's locality. I committed to €100 per hectare for all farmers who put seed in the soil for harvest 2024. That is to help with confidence for farmers, given there is a very narrow planting season and a higher risk to yields and profitability than at other times, and to support farmers through that.

The Deputy mentioned the importance of cash flow. I agree and have engaged with the banks on that. They have been proactive in terms of asking customers to come to them when they are experiencing cash flow problems and have put facilities in place to provide support.

I agree that certainty and predictability around payments is important. We are one of the best, if not the best, performing countries in the EU in terms of delivering payments early and on time to farmers. Last year was the first year of a new Common Agricultural Policy and all of the schemes were new. It is more complicated and difficult to provide payments in the first year of a new scheme as opposed to subsequent years when we are rerunning schemes from the first year.

Last year, I set out payment schedules in March for the end of last year to give farmers a line of sight and predictability as to when they will receive those payments. They were adjusted from between one and four weeks from previous years to reflect the fact that extra work was required to deliver on those dates. We delivered over 90% of payments on the dates we said we would, which was important. As we get into the second year of the scheme, those payments will return to normal dates and we will be very focused on delivering on those dates.

I thank the Minister for the response. I agree that postponing the audits and inspections, even just for a few weeks, takes a lot of pressure off a lot of farmers. Something which has been mentioned to me and Deputy Canney and, I am sure, the Minister is the burden of administration on farmers. Professional farmers are doing what they love and we want them out in the fields doing what they are good at. We do not want them at kitchen tables, filling up incessant forms and creating a massive duplication of work.

Most people would accept the principle that we need to simplify and streamline the administrative burden on farmers. There are about ten months left in the natural life of this Dáil. Is the Government considering introducing any specific measures to reduce the burden of administration on our farmers and make life easier for them so they can focus on the job they are supposed to be doing?

We have responded to reflect the challenges the inclement weather is creating across various schemes to provide flexibility over the course of the year in terms of dates and returns. In respect of the ACRES scheme, for example, we have delayed some actions until the end of the year to provide space for farmers to be able to manage that. We have provided more flexibility in respect of some of the tillage requirements that are in place around what crops farmers can plant this year and exemptions from the three-crop rule. Across the board, we have worked to try to make things as straightforward as we can.

When we are working within a common policy across 27 member states which requires many commonalities across the EU and Common Market, that creates challenges. We work very hard to try to make things as straightforward as possible. It is something we all have to work harder at, in particular when it comes to the next CAP and we formulate our priorities around that to make sure that becomes the case.

It is important we support farmers in making fodder this year to replenish stocks. I introduced a fodder scheme last year, and like the support schemes for homeowners and families, there were energy supports for farmers. I am applying those supports this year to the sectors that need them the most, in particular the tillage sector, which is under particular pressure. There will also be other supports this year.