Vol. 573 No. 4
170 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the Government commitment to invest ?3.7 million in horticulture each year until 2006 is to be reinstated, in view of the fact that the horticulture sector has a farm gate value of ?360 million, which forms an integral part of the economy and is vital for the provision of high quality food here and overseas. [25602/03]
The scheme of investment aid for the development of the commercial horticulture sector is funded under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. Under the first round of the scheme which covered the period 2001 to 2002, a total of 263 applicants were approved grant aid amounting to €6.494 million. Of these 183 applicants completed eligible investments within the specified time period and were paid €3.582 million. The funding for the scheme was necessarily subject to review in the formulation of the budget expenditure for 2003 and the experiences gained from the earlier round. An amount of €1.4 million was provided for round 2 of the scheme which will end on 31 December 2003. Funding for the scheme for 2004 will be decided in the context of the Estimates and budget process.
Question No. 171 answered with Question No. 131.
