asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if applicants for grants under the land reclamation scheme qualify for FEOGA aid; and the circumstances under which they qualify.
Written Answers. - FEOGA Aid.
100.
Individual farmers are not themselves eligible for FEOGA aid for land reclamation work. Part of the State's expenditure on grants for land reclamation work undertaken by development farmers under the farm modernisation scheme is eligible for reimbursement from FEOGA. The amounts so reimbursed accrue to the Exchequer.
Projects of an infrastructural nature not coming within the ambit of Directive 159/72, which could include, for example, a group drainage project, are eligible for aid under the FEOGA individual projects scheme. Funds under this scheme are, however, limited and it is a matter for the EEC Commission to decide which projects will be grant-aided. The main conditions to be fulfilled are that the beneficiaries of the project provide at least 20 per cent of its cost from their own resources, that the State contributes financially to the project and that work on the project shall not have commenced prior to its submission to the Commission.