An essential prerequisite for eligibility under the TB and brucellosis eradication hardship grants scheme is that the holding of the herdowner in question remains restricted following a full herd retest. Following the disclosure of a factory lesion on 11 December 1998 the holding of the person named was restricted on 15 December 1998. The herd is scheduled for a balance of herd test on 21 February 1999 and a full herd retest at a later date. If the holding remains restricted following the completion of the full herd retest, eligibility for hardship grant compensation will be determined at that stage.
The herdowner in question was potentially eligible for a winter fodder payment under either the mountain grazing scheme for ewes or the suckler cow scheme. However, as he was not an applicant under these schemes in 1998, the winter fodder payment criteria have not been met.