Vol. 466 No. 1
210 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty currently being experienced by deer farmers; the response, if any, he has received from the European Commission regarding the possibility of grant aiding such farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10757/96]
I am indeed aware of the concerns currently being expressed by deer farmers. The position is that the possibility of introducing a scheme of compensatory headage payments for deer is under consideration in the context of the overall review of the disadvantaged areas headage payments schemes. Any such scheme, together with any other adjustments to the current arrangements, would have to be capable of being financed within the overall funding available for the disadvantaged areas schemes. As no decision has yet been taken on the matter nationally, the European Commission has not been approached so far.
