Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 Nov 1988

Vol. 384 No. 8

Written Answers. - Farm Grants Information.

121.

Mr. Nealon

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that information about farm improvement grants for farmers in County Sligo is being made available to a Dáil Deputy who was not at any time approached by the farmers concerned; that this information is purportedly coming from the Minister in the first place; that his practice is greatly resented by many farmers as gross invasion of privacy; whether such action by him amounts to a serious breach of confidentiality; and if he will take steps to have the practice stopped and appropriate apologies sent to the farmers concerned.

122.

Mr. Deenihan

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that information about farm improvement grants for farmers in County Sligo is being made available to Oireachtas representatives who were not at any time approached by the farmers concerned; that this information is purportedly coming from the Minister in the first place; that his practice is greatly resented by many farmers as gross invasion of privacy; whether such action by him amounts to a serious breach of confidentiality; and if he will take steps to have the practice stopped and appropriate apologies sent to the farmers concerned.

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. O'Kennedy)

I propose to take Parliamentary Questions Nos. 121 and 122 together.

Following the Government decision at the end of September to provide an additional £8 million for farm grants, the limited staff resources available for this work were concentrated on speeding up payments so that the arrears could be cleared as quickly as possible. As a result of these efforts, the arrears were cleared inside a month. Grants are now being paid as they fall due.

By reason of the backlog of payments, there was a huge volume of inquiries either from or on behalf of applicants. In the exceptional circumstances, in order to enable the staff to concentrate on payments, it was considered that the quickest and most efficient way of responding to the inquiries was through the public representatives who had been in touch directly with me about the payment situation in their areas.