With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, together. Following the meeting on 12 September which the Taoiseach and the Ministers for Finance and Agriculture had with leaders of the farming organisations who made representations about the difficulties of farmers, particularly those in the £40 to £60 valuation category, in paying the second moiety of rates, a circular letter issued to county councils requesting that they adopt an understanding attitude towards individual farmers who clearly have temporary difficulties in meeting their rates liability in current circumstances. The request was reinforced in a further circular which issued on 4 November, and which notified local authorities of the remission of the second moiety of rates for those in the £40-£60 valuation category.
Rate collectors have various powers of recovering rates and it is normal practice for them to issue reminders in the form of the six-day notices, which are prescribed by statute, to persons in arrears. The fact that individual farmers may have received such reminders should not have inhibited them in any way from contacting their rate collector with a view to having their cases looked at in a fair and sympathetic manner in the light of their current circumstances. The cost of the remission for the £40-£60 category will be recouped to the local authorities by the Exchequer within the current year. While the payment of other rates on land may be slower as a result of the request to local authorities not to press farmers who are in difficulties it is too early at this stage to know whether there will be a permanent loss of revenue, and if so how much.