asked the Minister for Agriculture when the £70 interest subsidy on ten qualifying calves heifers will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork.
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
693.
Payments under the 1984 calved heifer scheme are scheduled to begin next month and the person named will be paid as soon as the batch which includes his payment is processed.
694.
asked the Minister for Agriculture (1) the number of farmers who have been refused grants under the calved heifer scheme due to alleged irregularities in claiming payments; (2) the total number of cattle for which grants have been refused and also the number of cattle which do not qualify on the grounds of not having calved on the date of inspection; and if he will now authorise payment for all qualified stock.
Claims by 484 farmers involving 2,180 grants under the 1983 calved heifer scheme have been disallowed. Of this number, 240 applications involving 1,080 grants were rejected because the applicants had made false or misleading statements in relation to heifers calving down in 1983. Legal advice had been sought and the extent of the penalty to be imposed in these cases will be decided on the basis of this advice.