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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Structures Funding.

FEOGA Agricultural Structures Funding

Summary

The Minister outlined £509.4 million in FEOGA commitments for 1989–93, including £308.7 million for horizontal measures, against a total plan of £668 million. He did not provide the requested subheading breakdown of amounts sought and granted; he said the £308.7 million would be available through 1993 and cited £67 million for 1990 headage payments. Connaughton warned that the funding could create a ceiling and leave people disappointed.

Paul Connaughton Mr. Connaughton Fine Gael

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the various moneys made available from the EC/FEOGA guidance fund for agricultural structures over the next five years; the main parts of the package together with the amounts sought and the amounts granted; and if he is satisfied that the funding is sufficient to finance the full headage payments together with extensions to the disadvantaged areas.

Comment on this

The total amount to be committed to Ireland from the FEOGA Guidance Fund in the period 1989-1993, as set out in the Community Support Framework which was published on 27 November and is available in the Library, is £509.4 million.

The £509.4 million commitments are broken down as follows— £88.4 million for the control of farmyard pollution; £46.1 million for the western package; £19.5 million for rural development; £46.7 million for forestry; and £308.7 million to implement horizontal Community measures relating mainly to on-farm investment, headage payments and marketing and processing.

The amount sought under the National Development Plan was £668 million. A full breakdown of that amount is given in Table 18 of Chapter 4 of the National Development Plan 1989-1993.

Until the FEOGA recoupment rates relating to horizontal measures have been determined by the Commission in the near future, it is not possible to indicate the amounts available for any one of these measures.

The Deputy may feel assured that within the limits of the funding available from the Community, headage payments will be maintained at the highest possible level in the areas adopted for designation as disadvantaged.

Comment on this
Paul Connaughton Mr. Connaughton Fine Gael

Can the Minister give us a breakdown of the figure of £308 million and inform the House how much he looked for under that particular heading?

Comment on this

As I have informed the Deputy, the amount sought under the total plan in those various sectors was £668 million. If the Deputy wishes, he may ask precisely what amounts were sought under each subhead and he will be given that information. I do not have it available to me now.

Comment on this
Paul Connaughton Mr. Connaughton Fine Gael

It is in the question. I asked if the Minister would outline the amounts sought and the amounts received. The question is very specific.

Comment on this

As I have indicatd, the amounts received are the amounts sanctioned up to this point.

Comment on this
Seán Treacy An Ceann Comhairle Independent

The time for priority questions is almost exhausted, I want to deal with Deputy Stagg's question, Question No. 5.

Comment on this
Paul Connaughton Mr. Connaughton Fine Gael

May I ask one further supplementary question?

Comment on this
Seán Treacy An Ceann Comhairle Independent

Very good, Deputy, but it seems that it would be to the disadvantage of other Deputies.

Comment on this
Paul Connaughton Mr. Connaughton Fine Gael

Is the Minister aware that we received £38 million this year from the Commission in headage payments? Can the Minister tell me how many years this £308 million package will cover? Is it three years, four years or five years? It is very important that we know this as obviously a ceiling is being created.

Comment on this

I think the Deputy is quite right. I did not attempt to suggest anything else. That £308.7 million is going to be made available between now and 1993. That is what I stated in my reply. In relation to headage payments, the Deputy has given the figure for this year, but let me point out to him that the 1990 Estimate, which incidentally we will be discussing later, contains a provision of £67 million in headage payments in 1990.

Comment on this
Seán Treacy An Ceann Comhairle Independent

Can we deal with Question No. 5?

Comment on this
Paul Connaughton Mr. Connaughton Fine Gael

There will be many very disappointed people tonight. It has not worked.

Comment on this
Seán Treacy An Ceann Comhairle Independent

Question No. 5, please, and it must of necessity be very brief. Time is almost exhausted.

Comment on this