As both the above-mentioned schemes are co-funded by the EU, the approval of the European Commission is required before the changes can be implemented. As it is a matter for the regional assemblies to seek this approval, the proposals were considered and approved at recent meetings of the monitoring committees for the regions, following which the formal approach to the European Commission was made. This was done by the directors of both assemblies on 24 October.
As part of the Sustaining Progress agreement, the income unit, IU, ceiling for eligibility under both the farm waste management scheme and dairy hygiene scheme is to be increased from the current level of 200 IUs to 450 IUs. The investment ceiling under the farm waste management scheme is to be increased to €75,000 and, in the case of the dairy hygiene scheme, to €50,000. In addition, a standard rate of grant aid of 40% is to be introduced for most investments.
In the meantime, work is at an advanced stage on revising the scheme documents and the necessary application forms in anticipation of early EU approval. Significantly increased funding has been allocated to both schemes in the recently published Estimates, with a total of €33.5 million available, representing an increase of nearly 60% over the 2003 allocations.