The Farm and Conservation Grant (Amendment) Regulations 1990

Amendment of principal Regulations

6.  In regulation 6 thereof (restrictions on approval of improvement plans)–

(a) for paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following paragraph–

“(1) An improvement plan shall not be approved under these Regula tions unless the appropriate Minister is satisfied that the investments to be made under the plan are justified from the point of view of the situation of the agricultural business and its economy and that implementation of the plan–

(a) will bring about a lasting improvement of that situation and in particular of the income per labour unit reasonably required in the carrying on of the business, or

(b) is necessary for maintaining the present level of income per labour unit so required.”;

(b) in paragraph (3), for sub-paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraphs–

“(b) proposed expenditure in connection with the breeding or keeping of pigs unless that Minister is satisfied–

(i) that after completion of the work, facility or transaction to which the expenditure relates, the number of pig places on the land occupied for the purposes of the agricultural business to which the plan relates will not exceed 800; and

(ii) that the plan provides that on its completion not less than 35 per cent of the feeding stuffs required for the pigs kept on that land can be produced therefrom;

(bb) proposed expenditure in connection with the breeding or keeping of pigs which entails an increase in production, except that where a plan submitted for approval which includes such expenditure is received before 1st January 1991, that Minister may approve for the purposes of grant expenditure which serves to increase the number of pig places on the land occupied for the purposes of the agricultural business to which the plan relates to no more than 300 such places;”;

(c) in paragraph (3), after sub-paragraph (h) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph–

“(j) proposed expenditure in connection with the breeding or keeping of beef livestock, unless that Minister is satisfied–

(i) that, subject to sub-paragraph (ii) below, the effect of such expenditure will not be to increase the number of such livestock kept on the land occupied for the purposes of the agricultural business to which the plan relates,

(ii) that, where the effect of such expenditure will be to increase the number of such livestock on such land, the number of such livestock at the completion of the plan will not exceed the equivalent of three livestock units for every hectare of that land comprising forage area, or

(iii) that such expenditure is in respect of any work, facility or transaction which has the effect of safeguarding the environment.”;

(d) after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph–

“(5A) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(j) above–

“beef livestock” means bovine animals which by reason of their breed or suitability are exclusively or principally kept for the production of meat either for human consumption or for processing into meat products,

“livestock unit” means one bovine animal over two years old, and a bovine animal under two years old but over six months old shall be taken to be 0.6 of a livestock unit, and

“forage area” means, in relation to land occupied for the purposes of the agricultural business to which the plan relates, so much of that land as is used for grazing by, or producing the feeding stuffs for, the beef livestock.”.