Vol. 495 No. 4
137 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when the installation aid scheme for young farmers was abolished; the plans, if any, he has to reintroduce it; if so, the reasons for its delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20182/98]
The scheme of installation aid was suspended on 7 August 1997 when the funding available under the operational programme for agriculture, rural development and forestry was exhausted. The terms of a revised, more focused installation aid scheme targeted towards those young farmers most in need of assistance was submitted for approval last July to the Department of Finance and the European Commission. The Commission recently raised questions about some aspects of the proposal. My Department has responded in detail to the Commission and again stressed my desire to secure the earliest agreement for the new measure.
