asked the Minister for Agriculture the number of cattle headage payments for 1978 outstanding and unpaid as on 31 December 1978, and the latest date for which figures are available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cattle Headage Payments.
9.
Of the 72,000 applicants under the cattle headage payments scheme, 37,000 had not been paid grants by 31 December 1978. Of these, all but 9,600 had been cleared for payment by 2 March 1979.
Would the Minister of State accept that cattle headage payment for 1978 should as far as possible be paid in 1978 and that it is a ridiculous situation to have 37,000 farmers still waiting after New Year's Day 1979 for their 1978 money?
I appreciate that it is very important that those grants are paid as fast as possible but the Deputy will appreciate that there are certain problems in areas that have to be clarified. Every effort is being made to clear those. On 2 March there were only 9,600 still awaiting payment and possibly by now quite a number of those have been paid.
How does that compare with payments for the year before?
I have not that information but I would say that it is well up on the year before.
I suggest that over the last two years those headage payments have been delayed to dates considerably later than in previous years.
(Cavan-Monaghan): A lot of them have not been paid yet.
I do not believe there has been any undue delay. There are the in-dividual cases which, for one reason or another, are held up but not to any great extent.
My information is to the contrary.