Paul Bradford
Question:159 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when the farm installation aid scheme was formally introduced by his Department; the earliest date which it could have been introduced if his Department had brought the scheme into operation as soon as the EC devised such a scheme; if he will give an estimate of the number of farmers who have lost out on a grant due to having their Deeds of Transfer stamped in the period between the EC start-up of the scheme and its formal introduction in this country; and if he will consider at this stage the possibility of making a retrospective grant available to these farmers on the provision that they would have had all the necessary qualifications for the scheme at the time of their land transfer.