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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 Jun 1993

Vol. 433 No. 1

Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.

Seymour Crawford

Question:

14 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when proposals on the review of the disadvantaged areas scheme will be submitted to Brussels; whether these proposals will include any new categories of area; when a final decision will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Jimmy Deenihan

Question:

52 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the fact that, in relation to the reclassification of disadvantaged areas, the criteria on income, even if increased to 60 per cent as suggested, can penalise farmers who are farming in wet and poor land and who, through their enterprise, have an income above 60 per cent; if he will ensure that all land, irrespective of income, of class three or poorer as classified by the Land Commission inspectorate, will be reclassified; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Paul Connaughton

Question:

56 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the special hardship confronting farmers along the River Suck on the Galway and Roscommon border; if he will have the area declared a third category disadvantaged area; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

P. J. Sheehan

Question:

59 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the disadvantaged area appeal panel on the extension of the disadvantaged areas has submitted its recommendations to his Department; if so, if he has accepted these; when he intends to submit the recommendations to Brussels for ratification; if it will be necessary for the panel to carry out a further survey to determine the appeals for reclassification of areas as more severely handicapped; and when the submission will be made to Brussels.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

76 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the extent to which he proposes to discuss with the farming organisations the details of the completed review of appeals in respect of extension of disadvantaged areas prior to final submission to Brussels; the total extra acreage included as a percentage; if he will have regard to the views of the farming organisations in the final determination of acreage to be included; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Michael McDowell

Question:

79 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason for the delay in forwarding the submission to the EC for an extension of the disadvantaged areas; and when it is expected to be submitted.

Helen Keogh

Question:

80 Mr. Keogh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will give details of the criteria for reclassification under the disadvantaged areas scheme.

Michael Finucane

Question:

205 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when the appeals panel will complete their analysis of the disadvantaged areas appeals; when the submission will be made to Brussels; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Paul McGrath

Question:

219 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the up-to-date situation in relation to areas in County Westmeath which have sought reclassification under the disadvantaged areas appeals scheme.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 52, 56, 59, 76, 79, 80, 205 and 219 together.

The disadvantaged areas appeals panel has recently completed its analysis of data from the survey of areas seeking inclusion in the disadvantaged areas. The results of the analysis are being verified on the computer in my Department and maps of the areas are being prepared. When this is completed the panel will present its formal recommendations to me. I will submit these without delay to the Government and, when the Cabinet has approved them, to the EC Commission. The Commission will in turn examine the submission and if, as is likely, the area being proposed for extension is more than 1.5 per cent of the land area of the country, the final decision will rest with the Council of Agriculture Ministers which will make its decision on a proposal from Commission.

I expect to receive the panel's recommendations during the next month. Discussion of the recommendations prior to submission to the Commission would not be appropriate.

The next part of the panel's assignment is the examination of areas under appeal for reclassification. Under current rules, in order to be considered for reclassification from less to more severely handicapped, an area must be homogeneous, have less than 40 per cent of the national average family farm income per farm worker and have more than 40 per cent of the working population engaged in farming. Following the commitment given in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress my Department has consulted with the farming organisations on revising the criteria for reclassification. Among the changes in the criteria I am proposing is an increase in the income threshold from 40 per cent to 60 per cent and the inclusion of district electoral divisions which fail marginally on the revised income criterion but which have a low land classification provided they are contiguous to existing more severely handicapped areas. In addition, non-contiguous areas of minimum size block of 15,000 hectares will be considered.

These revisions will enable many marginal areas to be included while maintaining a reasonable modulation between the other categories of disadvantaged area. I will be conveying the details of the package shortly to the appeal panel which will then carry out its analysis of the area under appeal on the basis of the revised criteria using existing data. It will not be necessary for the panel to carry out another survey of areas under appeal.

Details on the proposal for a third category of disadvantaged area are being drawn up in my Department at present and ongoing discussions between my Department, the EC Commission and the farming organisations are taking place with a view to defining boundaries. I would expect the relevant criteria to result in mountainous and sparsely populated areas on the western seaboard and islands being classified in the third category.

The Minister has given a good deal of information but he has not given any indication of time schedules. Regardless of what he has said about other areas of the country, in my area of Monaghan many people have not got their first silage cut in yet. On my farm the silage making is only in progress while on many farms cutting will not take place for some time. The matter is very serious. We have been promised that something will happen in this regard at some stage but we do not know when. The disadvantaged areas survey has taken some time to complete. What analyses does the Minister intend carrying out in regard to areas to be reclassified from disadvantaged to severely handicapped? Some of the desk analyses his staff have been examining would bring in very few areas; the analyses are totally different to the position on the ground. In one area of south Monaghan an in-depth farm survey has shown an income threshold of 32 per cent while the desk analysis shows 74 per cent. Will the Minister give an assurance that he will use at least some farm surveys in respect of the disadvantaged areas seeking reclassification as severely handicapped to verify figures he is obtaining from other sources?

That is adequate Deputy.

I appreciate that the appeals plan has taken a considerable time to complete. It was desirable to have a comprehensive survey carried out and the appeals plan was the only way of achieving that. The work has been completed and as soon as the report is available to me I will present it to the Government for presentation subsequently to the Commission. In relation to the Deputy's anxiety regarding County Monaghan, I will ask the panel specifically to ensure that Monaghan is given every possible consideration.

They should look at how the silage is up there. Those who say the silage is in in that area should check out the position.

The Minister stated that the only areas that will be classified under the third category will be areas along the west coast. However, there are areas in most counties, but especially in western areas, that should be classified under the third category. Such areas are located in parts of Leitrim, north Monaghan, parts of Cavan, Kerry and so on. Those areas, as well as the coastal areas, deserve to be classified under the third category. People in those areas should receive an increased income from funds rather than having to be paid social welfare.

I take the Deputy's point. In my reply I stated that sparsely populated rural areas would be included, too. I am hopeful that this will be the case not alone in western areas and others to which Deputy Crawford referred but to areas in the southern part of the country also.

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