Vol. 435 No. 9
203 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the funds allocated to the Donegal seed potato disaster fund; the amount contributed by the EC; the amount contributed by the National Exchequer; and the total amount of outstanding payments to be made.
An amount of £1 million was provided in the 1993 budget to provide relief for County Donegal potato growers. Following discussions with the EC Commission, the Commission approved the terms of a scheme for the restoration of production potential in the county and agreed to pay 75 per cent of the cost of the scheme. Payments are now virtually complete, the EC contribution being £1.2 million with the Exchequer providing £0.4 million out of the total of £1.6 million.
I have now decided to supplement the EC assisted scheme from the Exchequer funds still available by providing assistance to seed growers with less than two acres and making a special payment to Donegal Potatoes Ltd., who are central to the seed potato industry in the county and who were very seriously affected by the very poor harvest. A supplementary payment will also be made to seed potato growers who have already benefited under the EC assisted scheme. The combined cost of these actions is about £0.3 million. Arrangements for the payment of this amount are under way.
