There was great relief last week when Minister Humphreys and Minister Creed announced that an extra €200m was going into the Future Growth Loan Scheme (FGLS) for agribusinesses and farmers.

The Dealer has since learned that 40% (€80m) has been ring-fenced for farmers.

Unfortunately, what is less clear is when the money will be available, with the Department of Agriculture giving a slightly woolly, “further details will be announced in due course” answer when probed by myself.

I understand that the extra funding might have only been announced last week but last time the Department gave that response, it led to an almost two-year delay to the entire loan scheme.

Farmers, in particular, had already exhausted their portion of the existing fund and will be watching the clock closely for more details.