Vol. 474 No. 4
30 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will sanction the payment of national compensation to sheep farmers in the Nire Valley who suffered heavy losses in the spring of 1996 as a result of a freak blizzard which was not forecast in view of the fact that a precedent was set for such payments for losses which occurred in the winter of 1982. [3092/97]
I am aware of the serious losses suffered by a number of hill-sheep farmers in the Nire Valley, County Waterford, in March 1996. I arranged for my Department to ensure that Force Majeure provisions of the relevant EU Regulations were applied to allow payment of the ewe premium, rural world premium and headage payments, valued at £30.50 per head. The consent of the EU Commission has been secured to enable these payments be made on a once off basis for 1996.
The situation in 1982 is not comparable with the Nire Valley case. Six hundred and ninety thousand pounds emergency aid was provided by the European Commission to Ireland in 1982 when wide spread blizzard conditions caused extensive disruption throughout the country. Costs incurred as a result of the blizzard were in the order of £66 million of which £2 million was incurred in the agriculture sector.
