Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

A revised farm waste management scheme was launched by my Department on 24 March 2006, as part of the arrangements to enable farmers to meet the additional requirements of the nitrates directive. The principal changes to the scheme include an increase in the standard grant rate from 40% to 60%, with 70% being available in the four zone C counties; an extension of the scheme for the first time to sectors such as horses, deer, goats, pigs and poultry, and mushroom compost; the removal of any minimum income requirements from farming from the scheme so that all small farmers can participate in the scheme; and an increase in the maximum eligible investment from €75,000 to €120,000 per holding.

The technical specifications for farm buildings operated by the Department for the purposes of the scheme require the installation of adequate arrangements for the separation of clean and dirty water as part of the conditions of any new investment. This includes rainwater. In addition, I have added the installation of guttering on existing buildings as a further new eligible item in the terms of the revised scheme.

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