Vol. 539 No. 3
118 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the progress which has been achieved in the provision of grant aid for the upgrading and development of domestic abattoirs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19406/01]
Under the recently launched national development plan for the food sector, provision has been made to assist capital projects in the livestock sectors including the domestic abattoirs.
Abattoirs fall within the ambit of the processing and marketing provisions of the EU guidelines for State aid in the agricultural sector. One such provision stipulates that aid may be granted only to enterprises that comply with minimum standards. Thus, aid for development may be granted to enterprises that comply with existing minimum standards regarding hygiene, animal welfare and the environment.
The aid rate is 40% of approved eligible costs and generally investments exceeding 100,000, circa £80,000, will be considered for assistance. Eligible projects will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
