Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Areas Status.
Hugh Byrne
Ceist:
228
Mr. H. Byrne
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
if his attention has been drawn to the delay in the EU sanction of disadvantaged area status in respect of various tracts of land submitted under appeal; if he has satisfied himself that all excluded land that met the criteria has been lodged for inclusion; the representations, if any, he has made to have extra land included; when a decision will be taken in respect of the land under appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9671/96]
The current review of disadvantaged areas was initiated by the appointment of the Disadvantaged Areas Appeals Panel in 1991.
The panel requested submissions from individuals and groups who wished to have their areas considered for inclusion in the disadvantaged areas. A survey of all areas for which appeals were received was carried out in 1992, and the panel made recommendations on the basis of data returned by farmers who were surveyed. These recommendations were forwarded to the EU Commission in November 1993. I am satisfied that the appeals panel, with support where necessary from my officials, carried out a thorough examination of all areas appealed, and that their recommendations covered all land which satisfied the Commission's criteria for designation of areas as disadvantaged.
After a lengthy and complicated series of technical negotiations with Commission Officials, agreement was finally reached in February 1996 on the areas to be designated as disadvantaged. During this negotiation period, I had a number of meetings with Commissioner Fischler to ensure that there was no undue delay in reaching agreement.
Following on from this agreement, the Commission had to prepare a dossier, in all the official languages, which was then issued to various Commission Services (Legal, Financial etc.) for observation and approval. The submission is now with the Commission itself for approval and this is expected within the next week.
Following Commission approval, the dossier will be presented to the Council of Ministers who will consult with the European Parliament before adopting the proposal. This procedure will give legal effect to the designation of the new areas as less favoured. However, I expect to be in a position to release details of the new areas once Commission approval has been received.
I would like to stress that once the areas were agreed with the Commission Services in February, the passage of the proposal was entirely a matter for internal Commission procedures and was completely outside my control or that of my officials.
