Vol. 541 No. 5
199 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if his attention has been drawn to the financial difficulties experienced by farmers awaiting payments for the national farm pollution scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23317/01]
The national scheme for the control of farm pollution, now replaced by the new farm waste management scheme, was extremely successful and uptake exceeded all expectations. The EU imposed ceiling for expenditure under this scheme has been reached and my Department has applied to the EU Commission to formally raise the ceiling. A number of payments under the scheme have been delayed pending receipt of this formal approval.
I am aware of the difficulties which these delays have presented for many farmers and am making every effort to ensure that EU approval is obtained as quickly as possible. Following recent discussions between my Department and the European Commission, a positive response is expected shortly. All payments will issue immediately approval is received.
