asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will make a statement on newspaper reports (details supplied) that, because of delays, only £4.5 million of the £29 million FEOGA grants approved for Ireland have been paid out so far; and if similar delays have occurred in all other EEC member states.
Written Answers . - FEOGA Grants .
37.
: The discrepancy between grants approved and payments made arises from various factors. In the first place about half of the £29 million was approved only in the last 18 months. Most of the projects covered by these recent approvals would still be under construction and claims for payments would not yet be lodged in these cases.
Apart from that, under EEC procedures, applicants are allowed five years from the date of approval in which to submit claims for payment. Some Irish applicants have been slow to lodge claims and my Department are continually pressing these and all other applicants to present claims as early as possible after grants are approved. There has, in fact, been a considerable increase in the number of claims submitted since the beginning of this year.
The position in other member countries is not materially different. At the end of 1976, the latest date for which I have full information, the proportion of grants covered by Irish applicants was 17 per cent compared with a Community average of 16 per cent.