Bertie Ahern
Question:317 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he intends to introduce grant aid for small abattoirs to enable them to comply with licensing requirements. [9826/97]
Written Answers. - Grant Aid for Abattoirs.
Under the Abattoirs Act 1988 all abattoirs supplying the domestic market were required to upgrade their premises to the standards laid down in the Abattoirs Act 1988 (Abattoirs) Regulations, 1989. Licensing under the Act commenced on 1 September 1989 and provision was made for upgrading to be carried out under a permit system over a five year period in order to alleviate the financial burden on operators. All premises should now be at licensing standard.
Under Council Directive 91/498/EEC financial assistance from the Community is only available for abattoirs complying fully with EU Directive 91/497/EEC. However, as Directive 91/497 contained modified structural requirements to facilitate low-capacity abattoirs serving the domestic market these premises are not eligible for Community aid. There are no national funds available to me for grant aiding domestic abattoirs.