Austin Currie
Question:27 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the number of FEOGA grants for potato grading facilities which were approved for each of the last two years; and the amount of each grant.
Written Answers. - Funding for Potato Industry.
Enda Kenny
Question:28 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of FEOGA grants approved by the EC for potato facilities from 1990 to date; and the amount of grants involved.
Gerry Reynolds
Question:33 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the percentage of applications to his Department for FEOGA grants for potato grading facilities which were successful (1) in his Department and (2) at EC level.
John V. Farrelly
Question:50 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline (a) the number of potato producers who have applied to his Department for grant aid under the FEOGA grant system in 1990, (b) the number which were submitted to the EC and (c) the numbers which were not submitted and the reason.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 28, 33 and 50 together.
The arrangement which applied prior to 1990, in respect of FEOGA grants whereby all suitable applications were forwarded to the EC Commission, was altered by Regulation EC No. 866/90 which came into effect during 1990. Under the new arrangement, following notification by the EC Commission of the level of funds available, a selection committee within my Department recommend which applications should be approved for inclusion in an operational programme for submission to the Commission.
Since the inception of the scheme for potatoes in 1981, 100 per cent of applications considered under the old regime were successful both at Department and EC level.
Four potato producers applied to my Department for grant aid under the FEOGA grant system in 1990 and fell to be considered under the new arrangements. Three of these have been submitted to the EC Commission. One has been approved and two approvals are pending. The fourth application was not included in the 1990 submission to the Commission, because all four applications could not be accommodated in the submissiom. When the last operational programme was sent to the Commission in April this year that application was then ineligible for consideration on the grounds that it did not comply with the condition laid down in the regulation that work on the project may not have commenced more than six months before receipt of the operational programme by the EC Commission.
The following are particulars of applications for grants for potato grading and storage facilities approved under the FEOGA scheme from 1989 to date.
|
Number of Applications Approved |
National Aid Awarded |
FEOGA Aid Awarded |
|
|
£ |
£ |
||
|
1989 |
1 |
59,334 |
173,709 |
|
1990 |
3 |
22,687 |
155,145 |
|
30,000 |
116,708 |
||
|
146,400 |
519,015 |
||
|
1991 (to date) |
Nil |
Nil |