asked the Minister for Agriculture the steps he is taking to create a fund to compensate mountain sheep farmers for the loss of sheep in the recent snow storms.
420.
Written Answers. - Sheep Losses Compensation.
419.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the number of sheep that were lost in County Cavan as a result of the recent heavy snow; and if compensation will be paid from EEC funds to farmers who sustained such losses.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 419 and 420 together.
When full information is available as to the nature and extent of the losses, I will consider what action, if any, might be appropriate. At present precise information on the sheep losses in County Cavan and elsewhere is not available and I understand that it may be some time before figures are available even locally.
Having regard to the normal criteria applied by the EEC Commision to applications for aid from the Relief of Disaster allocation, i.e., that the disaster be of exceptional importance in both scale and gravity, no useful purpose would be served by applying to the Community for aid in respect of recent sheep losses.