Denis Naughten, TD, has requested that the Minister for Agriculture extend the deadline for submitting paperwork under the Farm Waste Management Scheme.
“While the Government has not been prepared to extend the deadline for the completion of work under the Waste Management Scheme, there should be no reason why he cannot extend the closing date for the submission of paperwork for 10 or 15 days to allow for the Christmas period,” said Deputy Naughten.
“There are farmers who will have completed work under the scheme by the end of the year and who understood they would be eligible for payment. However, if the completed paperwork is not submitted by the deadline of December 31, then farmers will lose out on payment under the scheme.
“I have made the case directly to the Minister that the deadline for paperwork should be extended in light of the difficulty farmers may experience in gathering the required documentation by the closing date.
“This extension of the closing date for paperwork makes sense from the farmers’ perspective as well as a departmental perspective with offices inundated prior to the year end,” he concluded.
