asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he has submitted to the EEC Commission the list of areas which will come within the scope of the directive on mountain and hill farming.
16.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Less Favoured Agricultural Areas.
15.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if the EEC has determined the rate of FEOGA contribution which is to be made to aid farmers in mountain and other less favoured areas.
17.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the progress that has been made in the implementation of the directive on hill and mountain farming in less favoured areas; whether standards have been established and areas defined; and the agencies that are involved in the administration of the directive.
18.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if his Department have submitted their version of disadvantaged areas to the EEC.
19.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if County Clare has been included in the list of underdeveloped agricultural areas for submission to the EEC under the scheme to assist agriculture in disadvantaged regions.
20.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the progress made to date towards augmenting the farm modernisation aids for the most disadvantaged areas of the EEC, such as the west of Ireland, in order to redress structural imbalances and maintain the rural social fabric; his plans in this regard; whether a list of areas qualifying for special investment and direct income aids has been prepared; and the percentage FEOGA contribution required to underwrite this special programme in Ireland.
21.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the progress that is being made towards the implementation of the EEC scheme to aid less favoured farm areas.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 21, inclusive, together. Discussions took place with the EEC Commission during September about the areas in this country to be designated as handicapped under the proposed directive on mountain, hill and other less favoured areas. Our proposals have been sent to the Commission. The criteria for selection of the handicapped areas are embodied in the provisions of the directive.
Final approval of the list of areas and the decision as to the rate of the FEOGA contribution towards the cost of livestock headage payments under the directive will rest with the Council of Ministers. The FEOGA contribution for certain supplementary investment aids under the directive is already fixed at 25 per cent.
My Department will be responsible for administration of the directive.
When will the proposals of the Department which were submitted to the EEC be published? I am referring to the proposals relating to the disadvantaged areas.
I expect they will not be too long delayed. The end of October has been set as the deadline for submission of the national list of areas. The deadline was probably extended, not by virtue of any representations by the Irish Government, but, by virtue of representations of other Governments.
I understood the Parliamentary Secretary to state that he had submitted these proposals.
The deadline was 31st October. We completed the job long ago of submitting the list of areas and we are awaiting the outcome of the Commission's decision on the applications we have made.
Could I ask the Parliamentary Secretary if he will publish the proposals submitted and, if so, when?
Rome was not built in a day.
But they have been submitted already.
There are delays in the procedures involved. It is not merely a matter of sending over lists and having somebody look at them. There are certain procedures to be followed which take some time. The end of October was set as the deadline for submission of the national lists of areas already mentioned. When the Commission have agreed on the lists and calculated the costs involved they will go to the Council for approval and for a decision on the FEOGA recoupment. The only commitment with regard to the refund at present is that it will not be less than 25 per cent or more than 50 per cent. It has to go through a few channels before determination. The Minister is pressing——
Can the Parliamentary Secretary say how much of this country is included in the proposals they have made?
That is a matter for the Council to determine.
But the proposals have been submitted. I am asking how much of the country is included.
We have submitted proposals in respect of all relevant areas. I cannot, and neither can the Minister, anticipate the decision of the Council.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary tell the House whether the whole country is included in the submissions of his Department, or what areas are included?
We have looked after Galway fairly well.
The Parliamentary Secretary was asked whether it was proposed to publish the proposals made by the Government and, if so, when. Would he answer that question, please and not refer to what decision will be made by the Council of Ministers? The question is: will the proposals of the Government be published and, if so, when?
The Deputy strikes me as a very simple man. He knows very well that such proposals will not be published until a decision has been made.
If it is not proposed to publish them, why does the Parliamentary Secretary not say that instead of waffling on about procedures?
The procedure is that these lists of areas have been submitted and they have to go through certain channels before a final decision is taken.
(Interruptions.)