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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Foot and Mouth Disease.

I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment tonight. The outbreak of foot and mouth disease had fairly catastrophic consequences for the area. With the passage of time the impact of it has not decreased. There remains a residue of unhappiness in the area in the wake of the cull, particularly relating to the level of compensation that has been paid. There are indications that a review procedure will be put in place and I would like to hear tonight the time scale for the establishment of the review tribunal.

The sheep cull removed from the area the principal source of income for many farmers in an area where there is a significant number of part-time and full-time farmers. The impact on the sheep population in Britain particularly has left a shortage of supply of breeding stock with a consequent increase in demand and price. This has left the farmers at a disadvantage on the double. The review of the compensation level is still awaited and I hope the Minister of State will be able to tell me the position on this.

There is some doubt about the ewe quota that needs clarification. Will farmers, for instance, be allowed to retain that ewe quota until they have the full complement of stock back on their lands? Because of the considerable numbers required, it will take some time to restock fully. I am pleased also that the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Cuív, is here tonight. He recently announced the rural regeneration programme, CLÁR, for the Cooley Peninsula. I am aware he will visit the peninsula tomorrow evening and his visit is awaited with considerable interest. People are anxious to know what exactly is involved with the CLÁR programme and perhaps he might take the opportunity tonight to give us a preview of what is contained therein.

Cuireann sé áthas orm deis a bheith agam labhairt ar an ábhar seo agus ar an dul chun cinn atá a dhéanamh le rudaí a fheabhsú sa cheantar seo i gCondae Lú, a bhí buailte go dona leis an ngalar crúb agus béal. The outbreak of foot and mouth disease – FMD – at Proleek on the Cooley Peninsula had severe implications for the population of the area, in particular for livestock owners. It necessitated measures to contain and deal with the outbreak, which involved depopulation of susceptible species throughout the area. The impact of this experience on the farmers of Cooley has been acknowledged on previous occasions in the House and elsewhere. I am pleased that a phased re-stocking has been under way for some time, with cattle and sheep returning to farms in the area. Some of these sheep were purchased in my part of the world, and we welcome our neighbours from across the country at any time, particularly when they are buying. This is welcome and hugely important in enabling the people of Cooley to put the FMD experience behind them and move on. If farming is once again to thrive on the peninsula, it is important that farmers look to and begin to plan for the future. It is, moreover, important for the image of and sentiment towards the area, in farming and every other respect, that it moves forward and is seen to put the FMD experience behind it. This is not to diminish or trivialise the experience which the people of Cooley have endured but rather to encourage them to look to what can be once again a bright future for themselves and their families.

There are items of what the farmers of Cooley regard as unfinished business arising from the FMD outbreak and its consequences. These issues have been the subject of various exchanges and of discussion between a top level delegation from the IFA, which included a number of Cooley farmers and the Secretary General and other senior officials of my Department, as recently as 21 September this year. At that meeting it was agreed that a number of propositions put by the IFA and a number of concerns expressed would be considered by the Department. That is being done and responses to the various points raised will be made shortly.

I listened with particular interest to what the Deputy said on ewe quota. I fully realise that re-stocking a hill is not as simple a matter as many people think because stock not born on a hill will tend to wander back to the place from where they came. I will certainly raise the ewe quota issue in the Department and come back to the Deputy with a specific response on it.

In the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, the Government gave a commitment for a targeted investment programme in both urban and rural disadvantaged areas. CLÁR is the programme for revitalising rural areas. I launched this programme in Strokestown last week.

I have selected 16 areas – including Cooley – to participate in the programme and I emphasise that these areas have not been selected randomly or arbitrarily. The main criteria for selecting them was a percentage loss of population between 1926 and 1996. These are, in general, the areas experiencing the most rural degeneration with a constant decline in population, withdrawal of services and all the attendant problems that brings, but, as I have said, I have also included the area which had a full cull of livestock due to foot and mouth disease, that is, the Cooley Peninsula. To do otherwise would have been to ignore the area that has suffered the greatest devastation this year due to that cull. The average loss of population in the rest of the areas is 50% and the total population of the areas that will benefit from this programme is 283,000.

The aims of CLÁR are to reduce social exclusion in the 16 areas. We will do this through the development of physical, social and community infrastructure. CLÁR will accelerate investments under the national development plan in order to tackle the decline in the regions identified and to overcome the new problems in the Cooley area. In addition, as recently announced by the Taoiseach, there will be a direct fund of £20 million over a two year period up to 2003 to underpin the success of the programme. CLÁR will complement the RAPID programme announced by the Government earlier this year for disadvantaged urban areas and also the pro gramme for provincial towns to be announced soon by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.

These three measures clearly illustrate the Government's commitment to tackling social exclusion. I intend that this programme will operate using existing structures, working closely with State agencies, and complement the range of initiatives and programmes already in place.

Since this programme focuses on priority of investment under the national development plan, the action identified will mirror closely the various investment programmes in the NDP and will also have regard to existing plans for the regions. In other words, we will use CDP's and all the other agencies that have existing plans, including regional assemblies, local authorities, Leader groups etc., so that we can get this programme operating on the ground immediately.

I am arranging to consult with local interests, as the Deputy mentioned, I will visit the Cooley area tomorrow where I will meet the public and the various interests to discuss what they believe are the priorities in their area. Following these meetings we will draw up an action plan for each area which will then be agreed with other relevant Departments. My aim is to complete this phase of the programme by the end of this year and that investments to these areas can begin to flow early in 2002. Prioritisation under the programme will be the key to this, particularly bringing forward as quickly as possible those measures that can be done in 2002 and planning those that can be done in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Among all the various parties involved, I am sure the priorities identified by the communities in the areas selected can be accommodated thus leading to an alleviation of population decline, disadvantage and the sense of loss of community that has been felt by these communities for so long.

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