Vol. 418 No. 7
316 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the investment ceiling of £20,000 per applicant under the alternative enterprises scheme; and if he will give details of the proportion of applicants who have reached that limit.
There is no limit on the investment ceiling per applicant under the alternative enterprises scheme. There is however a limit per enterprise which will be grant aided ranging from £5,000 for rabbits to £20,000 for deer. These limits which were settled in conjunction with the EC Commission were considered reasonable. They were introduced to ensure that the limited allocation available under the Structural Funds for this purpose could be used to encourage the greatest number of alternative enterprises.
