Vol. 515 No. 1
125 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the position in relation to farm retirement grants; the number on hand; the number in respect of which a decision has been made in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5566/00]
As the final date for applications under the current scheme of early retirement from farming was 31 December 1999 the number of applications submitted in December was substantially higher than normal. There are currently 556 applications awaiting finalisation.
In the 12 months up to February 2000 a total of 1,065 applicants were admitted to the scheme. A further 25 were refused admission because they did not meet the necessary conditions.
