Smith to push through €195m extra funding for farm waste scheme

AGRICULTURE Minister Brendan Smith is to seek the approval of the Dáil for a supplementary estimate for his department of €195 million this year to provide additional funding for the Farm Waste Management Scheme.

Mr Smith said the supplementary estimate would be moved this week, and this decision of the Government to agree to a supplementary estimate is an “acknowledgement of the outstanding success of the Farm Waste Management Scheme”.

The minister said that the amount of grant aid paid for the scheme in 2008 was already in excess of €180m.