Vol. 500 No. 2
142 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if young farmers were required to have been farming in 1995 rather than commencing in 1996 to qualify for the 1998 fodder aid scheme; if so, the reason this condition was attached to the scheme; and the number of young farmers refused aid on this basis. [3793/99]
The 1998 fodder scheme was directed at all sheep farmers with mountain grazings and suckler cow producers and small dairy farmers, with milk quotas of less than 35,000 gallons, in district electoral divisions, DEDs, in the worst affected areas. All farmers meeting the criteria of the scheme in the selected DEDs were included with all sheep farmers with mountain grazings as per the sheep headage scheme. Payments to eligible farmers were based on applications under the relevant 1998 schemes.
