Vol. 548 No. 4
32 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the amount of money which has been paid to farmers for each of the past seven years in grants for farm buildings and dairy hygiene; the amount provided for 2002; if he has satisfied himself that it will be sufficient to allow farmers to meet their needs to stop pollution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4992/02]
I am forwarding the details of the payments on a year by year basis for the past seven years under the control of farm pollution scheme, the farm improvement programme, the national farm pollution scheme, the farm waste management scheme and the dairy hygiene scheme to the Deputy.
In 2002, a sum of €38.6 million has been provided in respect of farm buildings under the various schemes, and a sum of €4.9 million for dairy hygiene works. This is in line with the overall allocations provided for under the national development plan for the years 2000-2006 and I believe it will make a significant contribution to the fight against farm pollution. These schemes are not intended by themselves to provide the full means by which farm pollution will be controlled; a range of other measures are in place which are also designed to help promote this objective, including the REPs scheme, the scheme of grant aid for the development of the organic sector, and of course the policy of good farming practice. In addition, I should point out that it is the responsibility of farmers themselves to take all steps necessary to control pollution from their farming activities.
