asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the total acreage of land and the number of purchases for which consent was given under section 45 of the Land Act, 1965, to the purchase of land by non-qualifed persons, individuals or companies for each year from 1980 to 1988, inclusive; the number of purchases and total acreage in which such consent was given in each county for each year from 1980 to 1988, inclusive; the number of cases in which consent was refused and the total acreage involved in each year from 1980 to 1988, inclusive; and the reason for granting or withholding consent for each purchase application in 1987.
In the longer term, the supply of cattle is determined by the size of the national breeding herd. The year 1988 saw the first increase in the breeding herd since 1984 and figures for June 1989 show a further increase of some 64,000 head compared to June 1988. An attractive package of grants for beef cattle is available from my Department as follows:
