Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Nov 1990

Vol. 402 No. 6

Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Special Beef Premium.

Paul Connaughton

Question:

2 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the total number of applicants deemed to be ineligible for the special beef premium to date; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that farmers are being disqualified for very insignificant inventory mistakes on the application; if his attention has been drawn to the fact for some elderly farmers the application form may prove difficult to complete properly; and if he proposes to re-examine the cases now refused.

Mr. O'Kennedy

It is still too early to say how many applicants will be deemed ineligible under this year's special beef premium scheme. I am aware that certain problems have arisen in relation to the manner in which some application forms have been completed. Officials of my Department have discussed the matter with the EC Commission and a flexible approach will be adopted in so far as this is possible. There are, of course, certain conditions which must be strictly adhered to and the two month retention period is one of these.

Mr. Connaughton

Does the Minister realise the tremendous hardship the rules governing this scheme have created in this, the worst year that Irish farmers have gone through? Let me refer briefly to the case of a farmer with 40 bullocks. One of them died but that death was not recorded or sent to the local DVO office and the person in question will lose £1,400 this year and is debarred from taking part in the scheme next year. Does the Minister believe that that is fair and reasonable? Is that the way to properly administer a scheme?

Mr. O'Kennedy

The Deputy will appreciate that this is a European funded scheme.

Mr. Connor

The Minister negotiated it.

Mr. O'Kennedy

The European Commission laid down the regulations which will entitle anybody to be paid from European Community funds. They are the regulations that are being put in place here. Let me tell the Deputy, for what it is worth, that many farmers were under the impression they should fill in a lot of details of all animals on their holding as distinct from just those in respect of which they were applying for a premium. We have now got agreement from the Commission, for this year alone, to enable such applications to be treated but they must all correspond with the other conditions particularly the one in regard to the two month retention period. I want to assure the Deputy, and the House, that everything that is open to us to do is being done and every case is being treated with the maximum amount of flexibility.

Mr. Connaughton

I do not accept the Minister's reply. The Minister accepted the regulations governing the scheme. They were placed before him and it was his job to fight them.

Mr. Connor

The Minister must not have read them.

Mr. Connaughton

Does the Minister think it reasonable that any farmer should lose £2,800 over two years for something that is basically so small? I am not making a case for people who are not bona fide applicants. If people do something wrong they should be penalised. Anybody prosecuted for using angel dust would not be fined as much as £2,000. I am asking the Minister, on behalf of thousands of farmers, to go through those files again and, where there is a bona fide case, to pay out the money before Christmas.

Mr. O'Kennedy

I can assure the Deputy that that process has already started. I want to make it clear that unless it can be shown to the Commission that the delay was due to something outside the control of the farmer concerned, or arose through no fault of the farmer, the Commission will not be satisfied to pay. As far as later applications are concerned the regulations are there and I am doing my best to persuade the Commission to modify or ignore them.