Vol. 540 No. 2
236 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will ensure the final date for one week of summer grazing on the Burren recently announced, be extended to accommodate those farmers who have had difficulty due to the foot and mouth disease scare and the relatively short notice for 2001. [20444/01]
I assume the Deputy is referring to the provision, on the same basis as last year, of an additional one week's grazing of winterage on farms in the Burren. I am pleased to confirm I agreed to allow an extra week's grazing, on a farm by farm basis, during the month of June this year. In the light of restrictions resulting from the foot and mouth disease alert, I instructed Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, to be as flexible as possible when dealing with applications from farmers for this additional week's grazing. I understand from direct contact that farming interests in the Burren were happy with this approach.
