Vol. 542 No. 3
117 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the reason a slatted house grant payment has not been made to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24578/01]
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 European Commission to formally raise the ceiling. A number of payments under the scheme, including payment to the person mentioned in the question, have been delayed pending receipt of this formal approval. Following recent discussions between my Department and the European Commission, a positive response is expected very shortly. All payments will issue immediately approval is received.
