asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the grave dissatisfaction of farmers with the operation of the western drainage scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter, stating when the review will take place and how much financial aid his Department has provided in this year's Estimates for this scheme.
Written Answers. - Western Drainage Scheme.
987.
Excellent progress is being made under the Western Drainage Scheme to the extent that the allocation of 150,000 hectares provided by the EEC is likely to be fully utilised well in advance of the targeted completion date of 31 December 1986. The only major problem is that there are far more applicants than can be catered for within the 150,000 hectares ceiling. The indications are that it may not be possible to accommodate applications received after 30 September 1981 and consideration is being given to how best to deal with those applications in the light of the present economic and budgetary position.
The provision for the scheme in this year's Estimates is £9 million.