Payments totalling more than 45 million euro have been issued to County Clare farmers under the Farm Waste Management Scheme during the last five years, according to Junior Agriculture Minister Tony Killeen (left).The Fianna Fail T.D. said that almost 5 million euro has been received by 356 Clare farmers in the first three weeks of 2010 alone, in respect of the second tranche of grant payments of 40 per cent under the Scheme.
Minister of State Killeen said that a total of 2092 Clare farmers have benefited under the Scheme since 2006, underlining the programme’s status as the most significant on-farm investment scheme in the history of the State.
He commented: “The substantial payment of grant-aid under the Scheme represents a vote of confidence in a vital indigenous industry with a huge export presence. Successive Fianna Fail-led Governments have provided funding of over 1.2 billion euro to some 34,000 farmers nationwide, which is a clear indication of our commitment to Irish agriculture and the rural economy.”
Minister of State Killeen continued: “The scheme represents essential infrastructural investment in the Irish rural economy and ensures the protection of the single farm payment and other EU funding worth 1.6 billion annually euro to Irish farmers. Following the payment this month of 190 million euro in respect of the second tranche of grant payments of 40 per cent, over 1 billion euro has now been paid out since the Scheme's inception in 2006. This represents 90 per cent of the total funding of the scheme.”
The Clare Deputy noted that the Government's commitment to on-farm investment was for 350 million euro over the period 2007-2013, of which 200 million euro was committed to the Farm Waste Management Scheme.
“When the final tranche of 20 per cent is paid out under the Farm Waste Management Scheme in January 2011, total expenditure will exceed 1.2 billion euro, all of which will have come from exchequer funding”, he concluded.
