asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the progress made to date in having parts of west Limerick included in the disadvantaged areas scheme for 1976.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.
18.
The review undertaken in my Department of the areas included in the EEC disadvantaged areas scheme is almost complete. As Deputies are aware, the areas scheduled as disadvantaged cannot be extended without the concurrence of the EEC Commission and extensions exceeding a specified proportion of the agricultural area of the country require a special decision of the EEC Council of Ministers. For this reason all areas seeking to be designated have to be looked at together and separate decisions about individual areas, such as west Limerick, are not feasible. However, it is expected that final decisions will be taken at an early date in regard to the changes to be proposed to the commission.
Can the Minister say if the decision will be made in time to enable areas that might be included in this scheme to avail of benefits in 1976?
Yes, it is expected that the proposals will have gone through in time so that these areas will be included in the benefits for 1976.