(Cavan) asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware that severe hardship is being caused to many people in County Cavan who are applicants for farmyard water grants because of the refusal of his Department to sanction payment of such grants where the supply of water has been taken from a county council well; and if he will take steps to arrange for immediate payment of the outstanding grants in these cases.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Cavan Water Grants.
29.
No such applicants have been refused grants. The position is that in a number of cases in County Cavan, applicants for grants under the Water Supplies Scheme have been required by the county council to sign undertakings in regard to source wells in which the council has an interest. These undertakings contain provisions which are regarded as unduly restrictive on the farmers and which are not required by other county councils. My Department's views in the matter have been conveyed to the Cavan County Council and a reply is awaited.
(Cavan): Would the Minister not consider it is a hardship on farmers who are given a supply of water from the county council wells, subject to a condition, in certain very unlikely events, that the permission might have to be withdrawn, that those farmers would be deprived of grants?
I have indicated that we do not agree with what the Cavan County Council is doing. We have written to them accordingly and have not received a reply.
(Cavan): I understand the result may be that Cavan County Council will now refuse to give permission to farmers to take water from public wells at all and that that will involve further hardship. Might I suggest to the Minister that his Department and the officials of the Cavan County Council might get together and hammer out some sort of reasonable solution immediately so that the grants which have been held up for literally, I understand, a year, would be paid? The same trouble does not exist between the Minister's colleague's Department and the county council.
We cannot have a discussion on this.
(Cavan): I do not propose to have a discussion on it. Is the Minister aware that the same difficulty does not arise between the Department of Local Government and the county council?
Of course, there were never any problems with local government, as the Deputy knows.
There are no problems with the farmers, the Minister said.
I take it the Deputy is a member of the county council.
(Cavan): No, the Minister is not correct.
There are sufficient other Members on the county council and I am sure the Deputy is in touch with them. This seems to be a matter for Cavan County Council who are the people who are insisting on something which is not insisted on by any other county council in the country. As I say, I have through my Department indicated that we do not think that Cavan County Council's request is reasonable. As I have said, we have written to them and are awaiting a reply.
(Cavan): Might I ask the Minister to be good enough to convey to Cavan County Council that it is the only county council in the Republic which insists on those conditions and would he ask the county council to desist from insisting on those conditions in the licence?
I do not like to interfere with the county council in that manner but I am sure the press and other media will let Cavan County Council know before the night is out what has been said here in this regard.