asked the Minister for Agriculture the level of EEC aid available towards grants paid under the Farm Modernisation Scheme to (a) development farms; (b) commercial farms (c) other farms; (d) the keeping of farm accounts; and (e) aid to farm groups; if he will state, in respect of each heading, the amount of eligible expenditure so far incurred; the amount of EEC aid appropriate to this expenditure; the amount of such aid which has so far been paid by the EEC to the Irish Government; and if he is satisfied with the speed with which such aid is paid.
Written Answers . - Farm Modernisation Scheme .
107.
: The EEC contribution towards national expenditure under the Farm Modernisation Scheme relates only to eligible expenditure on (a) development farmers, (b) grants for keeping farm accounts, and (c) aid in the less-favoured areas for joint investment schemes for fodder production and for improvement and equipment schemes for pasture and hill grazing land which is farmed jointly. The level of the EEC contribution is 25 per cent of the eligible expenditure. In the case of aid for capital investments by development farmers eligible expenditure is deemed to be the capital grant equivalent of an interest subsidy at the rate of 5 per cent for loans of up to 20 years duration (7 per cent in the less-favoured areas). Accordingly part only of the higher rates of grant for land improvement is eligible for an EEC contribution.
Applications for the EEC reimbursement relate to expenditure incurred in the course of a calendar year and are submitted to the EEC Commission before 1 July of the following year. Payment on account of 75 per cent of the refund due is normally made before 1 November and the balance before the subsequent April.
The following tabular statement sets out the position on reimbursement of eligible expenditure for (a) development farmers, (b) grants for farm accounts and (c) aid for farm groups.
|
Year |
Eligible expenditure incurred |
Appropriate EEC reimbursement |
Reimbursement received |
||
|
£ |
£ |
||||
|
1974 |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
||
|
1975 |
(a) |
1,481,540 |
(a) |
370,385 |
£373,720 |
|
(b) |
13,340 |
(b) |
3,335 |
||
|
(c) |
Nil |
(c) |
Nil |
||
|
1976 |
(a) |
4,571,116 |
(a) |
1,142,779 |
Payment on account of £771,777 received in December 1977 |
|
(b) |
126,920 |
(b) |
31,730 |
||
|
(c) |
Nil |
(c) |
Nil |
||
|
1977 (estimates) |
(a) |
8,118,716 |
(a) |
2,029,679 |
Claim to be lodged before 1 July 1978. |
|
(b) |
334,667 |
(b) |
83,667 |
||
|
(c) |
574,595 |
(c) |
143,648 |
My Department are in correspondence with the EEC Commission about the efficacy of the reimbursement procedures. I am hopeful that once this is reviewed reimbursement will be expedited.