asked the Minister for Agriculture (1) the percentage of the land of this country excluded from the disadvantaged areas scheme; (2) the acreage included in the disadvantaged areas scheme; and (3) the percentage of the total acreage of land in the country entitled to be included in this scheme as EEC rules stand at present.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.
4.
Under the basic EEC directive relating to the disadvantaged areas scheme (75/268/EEC) land is designated on the basis of utilised agricultural area and not the total area. At the present time 47 per cent of the utilised agricultural area of the country has not been designated as disadvantaged. The total area designated now stands at 7.47 million acres. All the land in the State which can be designated under existing rules has been designated.
Is the Minister aware that farmers in the west are not satisfied with recent changes made in the scheme because, they say, many areas which should have been included were not?
When this Government were returned to office in 1977 there was no room whatsoever to manoeuvre because of the previous negotiations on this matter. The Deputy will recall that the Minister for Agriculture in the last administration indicated that there would be no further extensions of the disadvantaged areas. Following exhaustive efforts on the part of the Minister for Agriculture and his officials, it has been possible to get an extension of more than 100,000 acres.
What the Minister has said is incorrect.