Farmers received more than £47 million last year under the Department of Agriculture scheme to control farm pollution, the Dail was told. The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said that so far this year £8.5 million had been paid out under the scheme, but there was no money available to continue it for this year.

The Fine Gael spokesman on agriculture, Mr Paul Connaughton, estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 farmers would avail of the scheme if it were reintroduced. If any funding became available through the non-take-up of other schemes, the Minister would try to make it available for the control of farmyard pollution.