(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture the amounts of food processing grants approved and the amounts taken up by Irish applicants under the FEOGA scheme of the EC since the fund was established; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Food Processing Grants.
3.
Grants amounting to £87 million have been awarded to Irish firms under the FEOGA scheme of grants for projects related to the processing and marketing of agricultural products under Regulations 17/64 and 355/77 since 1973. Approximately £42 million has been taken up by Irish firms to date. Grants amounting to £8 million have been either renounced or cancelled for various reasons and most of these have been reallocated to other Irish firms. Claims for a further £7 million have been lodged recently with the IDA and the EC Commission and should be paid out shortly. This leaves £30 million to be claimed and a large proportion of this relates to grants awarded in 1983 and 1984.
While the take-up of funds is not entirely satisfactory, it should be appreciated that many of the projects aided involve significant investment and take several years to complete. Work has commenced on most of the projects and I expect that the grants will be claimed over the next few years.
While the firms have five years in which to complete their projects it is the practice for my Department and the IDA to encourage them to submit their claims as rapidly as possible and the take-up of funds has improved significantly in recent years. However, the final responsibility for claiming the grants awarded rests with the individual firms.
(Limerick West): The Minister said that his Department are not satisfied with the take-up of funds. Have the Department any plans to encourage the industries concerned to accelerate the taking-up of those funds? Has the Minister any suggestions to make?
Maybe I could admonish them to get on with the job. Some of these projects are very substantial and involve several stages of progress, depending on the expansion of the industry. Obviously the firms will put in only what they need in a particular year. For instance, if a company get into economic difficulties they might cancel a project or, because of changing economic and agricultural conditions, if there was a reduction in cattle numbers they might not require the original amount. Apart from admonishing them I cannot do anything.
Would the Minister make contact with the IDA and ask them to reduce a great deal of the bureaucracy attached to the applications for FEOGA grant aid? The Minister will be aware that a person has to get an IDA grant before he can claim a FEOGA grant. In my experience the IDA, and a multiplicity of other agencies attached to Government Departments, do not make it easy for applicants.
I have had one experience with the IDA and contrary to what the Deputy said, I found them very helpful.
How is it there is a £30 million take-up?
I am not blaming the IDA.
I am.
(Limerick West): Has the Minister any information about the different sectors which have applied for these grants over the past two years and the amounts granted?
I am afraid I do not have that information.
(Limerick West): May we have it in due course?
Yes, of course. There should not be any difficulty.
Before calling the next question it might be helpful if I give my idea of how that question should have been dealt with. The question asks for two figures and when those figures are given they will mean a lot to the person who asked for them. He probably got the figures for the purpose of making a speech. This question has been handled in this way: the reasons why a certain amount of money was not taken up was debated for a long time, how people might be persuaded to take it up was debated, and how this money might be put to better use was also debated.
(Limerick West): Are you giving us a course?
The attitude I am taking today is prompted by something which was said to me.