I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter this evening. Two weeks ago today, in response to a priority question, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development informed me that up to 12 February this year 44 flocks had been depopulated and a 45th flock was in the process of being depopulated in the context of the anti-scrapie programme. The Minister said that completed the current phase of the programme. I do not know how many animals are involved in that but it would be quite a substantial number.
The understanding had been that compensation payments would be made to the farmers concerned within 14 days of the flocks being depopulated. We are now at least 14 days from the end of depopulation of 45 flocks and my information yesterday is that farmers in County Wexford, whose flocks have been depopulated have not yet been paid.
This is the latest episode in a scheme, which has turned out to be an absolute fiasco, and I do not use the word lightly. There were lengthy negotiations on the scheme itself and there are flock owners in Wexford who have been under notice since last October that their flocks were going to be culled, yet we saw no action on this until well after Christmas. There was an unseemly row in County Wexford over the weighing of sheep for the implementation of the scheme and now although the depopulation has been completed, or at least the first phase has been completed, payments have still not been made.
Will the Minister of State inform me what arrangements are being made to have these payments made and say why payments have not been made up to now? Is the Minister of State at all sensitive to the trauma and disturbance that has been suffered by flock owners and their families who have been living with this major problem and disruption of their activities since last October? Will the Minister of State assure me that these payments will be made immediately so we can put an end to this sorry episode?