Vol. 354 No. 12
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will reconsider applications under the revised farm modernisation scheme to allow farmers grant assistance because many farmers were refused grants when the farm modernisation scheme was suspended in February 1983.
322.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he proposes to provide grant aid to farmers who had carried out work on verbal approval from advisers.
323.
asked the Minister for Agriculture when he intends to make a decision on allocating moneys for appropriate farm improvement works carried out under the farm modernisation scheme and commenced before February 1983 with verbal approval.
324.
asked the Minister for Agriculture to ensure that farmers who received either written or verbal sanction of grants under the farm modernisation scheme heretofore, will receive payment of these grants as soon as possible and if he will make a statement on the matter.
325.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will examine the situation where participants in the farm modernisation scheme are being disallowed their grants on the basis that they did not notify the local farm development office before work commenced even though the development was the next stage in their farm development plan.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 318, 322, 323, 324 and 325, together.
Investment aid under the Department's schemes for farm development is payable only on works carried out with the prior written approval of the farm development service. I do not propose to alter this requirement. I have been looking into the possibility of providing some aid for farmers affected by the suspension of part of the farm modernisation scheme on 9 February 1983 but so far I have found to ready means of accommodating the problem.
319.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will introduce special grants for improvements to existing covered accommodation in farms and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Grants are available under the farm modernisation for the construction of new farm buildings and the conversion for certain uses of existing sound buildings which have not previously been aided under the scheme. I do not propose to make grant aid available for the maintenance or improvement of existing buildings. It is not unreasonable that such maintenance and improvement should be carried out by the farmers themselves, and particularly so in the current difficult Exchequer situation.
320.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he intends to introduce grant aid for cattle housing for farmers in the "other low" category.
While grant aid is not available generally for former "other low" farmers under the revised farm modernisation scheme, some farmers in the west below the development level who follow an improvement plan designed to increase beef and sheep output, may be eligible for grant aid for buildings for livestock. This aid is available under the orientation of production element of the programme for western development.
In view of the limited resources available it is not possible at this time to provide aid for cattle housing to "other low" farmers outside the West of Ireland. I would add that any farmer who is not eligible for the farm modernisation scheme on the basis of his present category is free to apply to ACOT for reassessment.
