Vol. 435 No. 1
14 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason that good quality second-hand machinery for job creation enterprises will not be approved for grants under the Leader Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Both national and EC policy prohibit grant aid for second-hand machinery. This policy ensures that projects are provided with reliable equipment at a substantially reduced cost, due to generous grant aid. It also avoids the risk of multiple grant aid in respect of an individual item of equipment. Apart from these factors, the value to be placed on an item of second-hand machinery for grant purposes is a practical difficulty.
The ban on aid for second-hand machinery is included in the guidelines issued to the Leader groups.
