Vol. 375 No. 3
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the present position of the application submitted by the previous Government to have the remainder of County Cavan and County Monaghan included in the severely handicapped area; if his attention has been drawn to the financial loss suffered by the farmers in these areas due to the undue delay; and if he will make a statement on the reason for the delay in having this matter finalised.
12.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the progress which has been made in processing applications for inclusion in the disadvantaged areas scheme for a number of groups in the Mallow area of County Cork.
19.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the areas of south County Tipperary which have been submitted for inclusion in the application for extension of the disadvantaged areas scheme.
25.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will specify the areas of north-west Cork that will be included in the extension of the disadvantaged areas scheme.
26.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if, further to his statement in relation to the reclassification of less severely disadvantaged areas on 30 June 1987, that the Commission has suggested that consideration should be given to amending the request in such a way as to maintain modulation of the rates of compensatory allowance instead of having uniform rates throughout all the less favoured areas, such an amended request has been made; when the request was made; and the outcome of the request.
30.
andMr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the application for reclassification of disadvantaged areas lodged with the EC Commission by the previous Government in February last has been shelved; and if not, if he will outline the proposals, if any, he has to complete the matter at this stage.
36.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will expedite as a matter of national importance the extension and reclassification on all lands deemed to be eligible under the EC disadvantaged areas scheme.
44.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will actively pursue the reclassification of those areas in south County Kerry classified as disadvantaged with a view to having the said areas classified as severely handicapped as a matter of urgency.
54.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food in view of the recent statement by his Minister of State, that the Government were not prepared to finance the proposed reclassification of less severely handicapped areas; if the proposal has now been withdrawn from Brussels; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
56.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will have the severely disadvantaged area extended to the valley of the Mulcair river in County Limerick which was extensively flooded in August 1986; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
74.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the present position regarding Ireland's application to the EC to reclassify areas to severely handicapped status; the reason his Minister of State announced that no finance was being made available to fund the extension in 1988; and the reason the Taoiseach gave the impression to farming leaders that extra funding would be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
75.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps, if any, he will take to ensure EC approval to the extension and reclassification of all qualified areas under the disadvantaged areas scheme; and if he will ensure that the submissions of Laois County Committee of Agriculture with regard to the Slievemargey and Slieve Bloom areas are fully considered and supported.
76.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement regarding the present position on the reclassification of disadvantaged areas in so far as same pertains to the Slieve Bloom area of County Laois; when such a submission is to be lodged; and the reasons for the apparent delay in having such a submission processed by his Department.
82.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will extend the severely handicapped areas within the disadvantaged areas in County Kerry to include the entire constituency of south Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
83.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on the present position on the reclassification of disadvantaged areas in so far as same pertains to the Shannon Valley area of County Offaly; when such a submission is to be lodged; and the reasons for the apparent delay in having such a submission processed.
84.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on the present position regarding reclassification of disadvantaged areas in so far as same pertains to the Slieve Margey area of County Laois; when such a submission is to be lodged; and the reason for the apparent delay in having such a submission processed by his Department.
85.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans, if any, he has for the extension of the disadvantaged areas for Glenville and Carraig na bhFear, County Cork; and if so, when; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
86.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the present position regarding the extension of the Slieve Bloom area of County Offaly under the disadvantaged areas scheme; the names of the areas already included in this scheme; the areas he is seeking to have included in it; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
87.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the present position regarding the extension of the Shannon Valley area of County Offaly under the disadvantaged areas scheme; the names of the areas already included in this scheme; the areas he is seeking to have included in it; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
88.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the present position regarding the extension of the Slieve Margey area of County Laois under the severely disadvantaged areas scheme; the names of the areas already included in this scheme; the areas he is seeking to have included in it; if he will meet a deputation from the committee to discuss the whole issue of the Slieve Margey area under the disadvantaged areas scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 12, 19, 25, 26, 30, 36, 44, 54, 56, 74, 75, 76, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, and 88 together.
A proposal to reclassify all existing less severely handicapped and mountain sheep areas to more severely handicapped status was made to the EC Commission on 4 February last. No proposal was made to extend the boundaries of the existing disadvantaged areas. The Commission indicated that the proposed across the board change did not meet the requirement in the basic EC Directive that the level of compensatory allowances (headage payments) should be fixed in accordance with the degree of severity of the permanent natural handicaps. This ruled out the payment of uniform rates of headage grants throughout all our disadvantaged areas and so the proposal was not acceptable to the Commission.
In the light of the reply from the Commission, the Government has approved a modification of the February proposal to provide for a restructuring of the disadvantaged areas scheme in a manner that should meet the objections raised by the Commission. The new proposal was lodged with the Commission on 4 November. It includes a case for improved FEOGA financing of the disadvantaged areas scheme as operated here and in addition deals with the question of extending the boundaries. The improved financing arrangement sought would enable the proposed revisions to the schemes to be financed without imposing any additional burden on the Exchequer.
The situation in the various areas mentioned by Deputies will be taken fully into account in discussions with the Commission on this matter. It is not possible to be more specific in regard to individual areas at this stage but I can assure the Deputies that the case made for each area will be carefully examined before final decisions are taken.
