Vol. 511 No. 6
176 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when farmers in County Donegal will regain the sheep quotas withdrawn as a result of possible overgrazing; and if he will make a statement on the matter in view of the fact that some farmers are not meeting their REP scheme plan. [24847/99]
Under the terms of an interim national commonage framework plan introduced in October 1998, farmers with commonage land in the six western counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, and Kerry, who were not then participating in the rural environment protection scheme, were obliged to reduce their ewe numbers by up to 30 per cent of their existing permanent quota. As a result, up to 30 per cent of their permanent quota was frozen pending the completion of detailed commonage framework plans for the individual commonages.
These detailed commonage framework plans will determine the percentage destocking, if any, required on the commonages in question, and this will determine the amount of quota, if any, that will be restored to those farmers whose quotas have been reduced. The process used in the preparation of these plans is more complex than originally anticipated. It is not possible to state definitively when all plans will be completed but the situation is under active review.
