asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware that an applicant for a grant under the land project, (name supplied) has been refused the maximum amount of grant payable under this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Project Grant.
11.
The applicant in question was offered the maximum appropriate grant, namely, two-thirds of the estimated cost of the work. Where the grant on this basis would exceed £50 per acre, the grant payable is limited to that amount, but, in the present case, the grant did not reach £50 per acre.
Does the Minister not appreciate that this is a case of a widow who had to employ labour to have the work done? The estimate was far in excess of the figure quoted by the Minister. In the circumstances will he not ensure that the maximum of £50 per acre will be paid in this case?
I understand that this lady is a widow and is a teacher. I also understand that the estimated cost of the work was £195 and that the upgrading of the grant originally allocated from £120 to £130 was at the time when the £30 per acre limit was raised to £50 per acre but the two-thirds still operated regardless of whether the limit was £30 or £50. The figure of £130 is two-thirds in this case.