Vol. 487 No. 8
6 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans, if any, he has to introduce an emergency aid scheme to compensate market gardeners who experienced damage to their crops during the exceptional storms on 24 December 1997 in the Cork and Kerry region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5094/98]
I regret there is no funding available to me out of which compensation can be paid to market gardeners in the Cork and Kerry region who experienced storm damage on 24 December 1997.
Could the plight of these gardeners not be included in the fund for the cereal growers? I am not aware of the details of this issue but I would have thought that because the fund was set up earlier in the year the market gardeners could have been included.
The fund set up by the Minister was for £1.2 million and it was aimed at those whose future viability was at stake because of weather damage in August. The closing date for that fund was 19 December. I understand that most of the damage done in this case was structural damage to glass houses, for example.
Will the Minister of State review the compensation package agreed in late autumn 1996 to provide financial aid to carrot growers in east Cork? Those funds have not been paid in full. Agreement was reached at the time but only 30 to 40 per cent of the moneys agreed have been paid. I would be grateful if the Minister of State would examine why the remaining moneys have not yet been paid. There are 50 to 60 farmers in the area who are in genuine need of the assistance promised.
That is a separate question.
Is the Minister aware that fields of cabbage and cauliflower in the Ballynacourty area of County Waterford were destroyed by the hurricane on 24 December last? Is there any hope of compensation for those growers?
We cannot include them because there is no method in place to deal with them. There are already too many applications for the available money, but I accept the south-east was the worst affected area.
