Vol. 541 No. 4
231 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of persons applying for inclusion in the farm retirement scheme in Kildare for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22768/01]
From its introduction in 1994, 171 farmers in County Kildare joined the scheme of early retirement from farming. This scheme closed to new applicants on 31 December 1999. A new EU early retirement scheme commenced at the end of November 2000 and three applications have been received in Kildare so far, all during 2001. Two of these are currently being processed and the third has been approved for payment.
The numbers of entrants to the scheme in County Kildare in each of the last five years are the following: 1996 – 30; 1997 – 26; 1998 – 21; 1999 – 22; 2000 – 0.
