asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will direct that payments sanctioned and due under the heifer scheme be paid immediately; and whether animals may be sold after payment has been sanctioned but prior to the actual payment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Heifer Subsidy Scheme.
24.
All grants which are found to be in order under the terms of this scheme are paid without delay.
The basic objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers to keep additional heifers for breeding. Under the terms of the scheme, there is power to disallow for grant purposes any animals in regard to which there are grounds for suspecting that they were introduced into a herd merely for the purposes of obtaining additional grants and not for their retention in the herd for further breeding. Some cases of this kind appear to have occurred and they are at present being investigated.
25.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if there has been any change in the heifer subsidy scheme.
There has been no change in the conditions of the scheme since 19th February, 1965.
Is it not a fact that no payment will be made until these cows are got in calf again—that that is a new condition on which the Department are insisting?
I do not agree that we can——
Would the Minister like to get cases?
The Deputy now says he has complaints. If he had complaints, surely the obvious thing to do would have been to get them to the Department?
Surely that proves it?
It does not alter the fact that if the Deputy had these complaints, he should have put them to the Department in the normal way.
What I wanted was to find out if there had been a change in the conditions.
What he wanted was to try to trap the Minister in some way.
He would have a job.