Potato grant allegation is denied

The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has rejected allegations by Labour of "corruption" in the administration of a potato grant scheme, and accused one of the party's TD of bullying department officials.

Mr Walsh claimed that Mr Sean Ryan (Lab, Dublin North) was the only one trying to "corrupt the scheme" and "bulldoze" his way through it, for one of his own constituents.

The Labour TD claimed that ordinary potato growers had been "denied their grants time and time again in favour of people who have supported Fianna Fáil over the years", and he said it was an "utter scandal".

The Minister rejected Mr Ryan's demand for an investigation and warned instead, "his bullying will not be tolerated".

" My officials are sick of it and they will report the deputy to their union if he does not stop," Mr Walsh said.

During Dáil agriculture questions, Mr Ryan claimed "some people who do not even know how to put a spade into the ground, have got grants".

He said €308,000 in grants was directly recommended to an applicant, a Fianna Fáil supporter "who did not meet the basic eligibility requirements of the scheme" and who only decided to do so "nine days after being informed by his deputy or minister in Donegal that he had been allocated a grant".

The Labour deputy said he did not get the grant in the end and that was because of Mr Ryan's own efforts and those of potato growers.

Mr Walsh said a selection committee of four assistant secretaries from the Department of Agriculture, and a representative from Enterprise Ireland decided which of 25 applicants would be granted allocations from the €2 million in funding available.

They were of "outstanding and unquestionable integrity" and they allocated and approved the grants.

"I did not interfere in the process in any way," Mr Walsh said.