asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will designate the Shannon catchment area or any other part of the country as an environmentally sensitive area under the EC Regulations 1760/87.
Written Answers. - Environmental Designation.
114.
Because of the current limitations on the availability of Exchequer funds, it is not possible for the present to proceed with a scheme for the designation of environmentally sensitive areas where farming practices appropriate to the preservation of the environment would receive special encouragement.
However, the matter is one which I intend to keep very much in mind in the context of the likely availability to this country in due course of increased EC Structural Funds.