asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the grave financial difficulties of a number of farmers, approximately 50, in the Cavan-Monaghan area who were refused grants for works carried out under the farm modernisation scheme with the verbal approval of the farm development officers prior to 9 February 1983; if he will pay these grants to the farmers as many of them borrowed heavily to modernise their farms on the strength of these grants and now find themselves in grave financial difficulties.
Written Answers. - Farm Modernisation Scheme.
43.
In accordance with a decision taken in the context of the 1983 budget, the issue of approvals under the farm modernisation scheme (FMS) for grants for farm structures was suspended with effect from 10 February 1983. The suspension ended with the introduction of a revised FMS from 3 January 1984 but works undertaken between the dates cited without the prior written approval of the Farm Development Service (FDS) were not eligible for grant aid under the terms of the revised scheme. It was subsequently decided to pay grants to farmers who had made formal written application to the FDS prior to 10 February 1983 and who went ahead with work during the period of the scheme suspension. Those who remain ineligible for grants are farmers who proceeded with work during the scheme suspension without written approval from the FDS and without having made application for such approval.
Grants cannot be paid to farmers who do not meet some of the most basic requirements of grant schemes, viz. making an application and obtaining written approval before commencing work. I have no knowledge of the number of farmers, if any, in the Cavan-Monaghan area who are in financial difficulties as a result of carrying out works for which they had neither made application to the FDS nor received written approval from that body.