asked the Minister for Agriculture if, in view of the fact that there is no bull within a radius of seven miles of Meenatotten, Dungloe, County Donegal, he will take immediate steps to have a Polled Angus bull allocated to the area.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Donegal Bull Station.
An Aberdeen Angus bull was available in the Meenatotten area under my Department's special scheme for congested districts up to the 1st October last, when its term of location expired. No application for a replacement bull was received until the 10th of this month. This application will be favourably considered, if it is found that a suitable bull is available after the prior applications from the congested districts have been dealt with.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary take every possible step to ensure that a bull is allocated to the area? The Parliamentary Secretary will appreciate that it is a very isolated area and that considerable hardship will be caused if a bull is not made available. There may be surplus bulls in other constituencies, one of which might be transferred to that particular area.
I can assure the Deputy that that will be done but priority must be given to the cases whose applications were in at the usual time.
Hardship should be taken into consideration.