Vol. 494 No. 4
244 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans, if any, he has to offer an investment plan to farmers in view of the current uncertainty in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18786/98]
Some £242 million has been made available under the current Operational Programme for Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry for onfarm investment measures and this money has been fully committed. This includes additional funding of over £44 million provided since June 1997, of which £16.2 million is from national Exchequer funds. The additional funding has been largely used to cover existing commitments under the control of farm pollution and dairy hygiene schemes.
While there are currently no funds available to restore these schemes, I regard them as high priority and I am continuing to pursue the question of funding to enable their reintroduction in a more focused way. I have also identified onfarm capital investment as a priority measure in the proposals put forward to the Department of Finance for the next national development plan which is now being drafted for the new round of Structural Funds.
