asked the Minister for Agriculture the total amount of grants paid in 1977 under the forage harvester aid scheme; and why this scheme has been discounted for 1978 without prior notice.
472.
Vol. 304 No. 7
asked the Minister for Agriculture the total amount of grants paid in 1977 under the forage harvester aid scheme; and why this scheme has been discounted for 1978 without prior notice.
472.
asked the Minister for Agriculture why he proposes to end the grants scheme operating through the county committees of agriculture since 1964 for the purchase of forage harvesters by contractors and groups of farmers in all parts of the country; and the amount of money paid out under this scheme last year.
473.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the amount of money paid out in each county last year under the grants scheme for the purchase of forage harvesters by contractors and groups of farmers.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 471, 472 and 473 together.
This scheme was introduced in 1964 with the object of encouraging the practice of silage-making on a wide-spread scale. The very considerable expansion in the quantity of silage produced in the meantime indicates that the scheme has achieved its objective. Its continued operation is not, therefore, considered justified, particularly in the light of the introduction in 1977 of the EEC scheme of grants for farm groups in disadvantaged areas purchasing machinery for fodder production.
The forage harvester scheme has been operated on a year-to-year basis through the committees of agriculture, the terms being notified to them in the month of March or April each year. Committees were given prior notice on 10 February 1978 that the scheme would not be operated this year.
Particulars of the amounts paid in grants under the scheme in 1977 are shown in the table following. Grants to groups of farmers under the scheme were discontinued from 1974.
Amounts paid in 1977 under the Scheme o Grants for Forage Harvesters
County |
£ |
Carlow |
870 |
Cavan |
2,490 |
Clare |
1,920 |
Cork |
10,330 |
Donegal |
580 |
Dublin |
220 |
Galway |
1,560 |
Kerry |
120 |
Kildare |
870 |
Kilkenny |
4,450 |
Laoighis |
3,170 |
Leitrim |
— |
Limerick |
5,760 |
Longford |
2,130 |
Louth |
2,660 |
Mayo |
480 |
Meath |
7,640 |
Monaghan |
2,000 |
Offaly |
1,770 |
Roscommon |
1,240 |
Sligo |
— |
Tipperary (N.R.) |
6,160 |
Tipperary (S.R.) |
6,090 |
Waterford |
4,170 |
Westmeath |
2,220 |
Wexford |
2,870 |
Wicklow |
790 |
Total |
72,560 |