Vol. 416 No. 7
5 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will delegate members of his staff to assist farmers who have difficulty in completing the beef premium application forms properly thus avoiding the current situation where up to 20 per cent of applications are being disqualified.
6 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will demand at the next meeting of the EC Council of Ministers that moneys due to farmers in this country, in the form of subsidies, and headage, will be paid in the relevant year; and that our Government will pay the matching finance in the relevant year also in view of the increasing dependence of so many of our farmers on these payments as a significant proportion of their overall income.
17 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will give a commitment to the farmers of Cavan-Monaghan to have all headage payments made to them by 20 March 1992; if his attention has been drawn to the Taoiseach's commitment and his predecessor's commitment to the IFA that all headage payments would be made in the 1991 calendar year; and if he will outline his response to farmers who are on the breadline because of such a breach of promise.
48 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the delay in the payment of various grants and subsidies to farmers in view of the commitment given that all those payments would have been made before the end of 1991; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
107 Mrs. Taylor-Quinn asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the way in which he proposes to pay 1991 and 1992 headage grants; and when he expects full payments to be completed for this period.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 6, 17, 48 and 107 together. First, I should say I am aware of the delays in making payments and I find it difficult to make any kind of excuse for this. The reasons for delays in payment of headage and premia grants for 1991 are many — extra work arising in relation to 1991 from the extension and reclassification of the disadvantaged areas, mistakes made in applications by many farmers, delays by applicants in replying to queries raised on their claims by my Department, and pressure on staff at local offices both from the increased work load and the huge volume of telephone and personal inquiries from applicants and others.
It has never been possible under any administration to pay all headage and premia grants by the end of the calendar year to which they related. A typical pattern has been one in which a percentage of payments is made by year's end and the remaining payments are made early in the following year. In regard to 1991, we were committed to making as many payments as possible before the end of the year. We succeeded reasonably well in this and, in fact, despite the problems outlined above, more headage and premia grants in respect of 1991 were paid by the end of that calendar year than were paid within the relevant year in respect of any previous year.
We are satisfied, however, that the system must be improved and this was one of the first issues which I addressed on becoming Minister for Agriculture and Food. Our determination to do so has been reinforced by the fact that since the end of 1991 problems relating to the special beef premium scheme have delayed not just payments under that scheme but under all other schemes also.
The EC Council of Ministers is not the appropriate forum in which to address the problems of headage and premia payments delays in Ireland. These can best be addressed nationally. This is why a departmental task force were set up to deal with the problems involved. I expect to have their final report within the next two weeks. As they have already submitted an interim report on the problems relating to the 1991 special beef premium scheme, and as I have accepted the recommendations made in that report in order to have all outstanding 1991 payments under that scheme and all other schemes completed by end of this month, I am fairly confident its final report will provide a solid basis for enabling all 1992 payments that can be made before end 1992 to be paid this year. That is my objective and that is what I have asked my Department to do. It is simply not good enough that farmers have to call to Deputies' offices and contact the Minister to find out when the payments for last year will be paid.
I understand that the final report will include recommendations also on revised special beef premium scheme applications that can be filled more easily by all farmers. I have asked the task force to make user-friendly forms available to farmers. If we have schemes and there is money available we should make it easy and not more difficult for them to avail of this money. My Department's staff are always willing to help farmers who have difficulty in completing their forms. In relation to the specific matter raised by Deputy Deasy, his figure of 20 per cent of special beef scheme applications being disqualified cannot be accepted.
In calling Deputy Deasy I should say that the time for dealing with priority questions is exhausted. Brevity must now be the key note. Brief questions, please.
I appreciate the latitude in this regard and the Minister's attempts to rectify the situation in these two particular instances. I find that these are the two most burning issues in agriculture at present. People have not received the money that they should have. Let me first refer to Question No. 5. A huge number of people are disqualified on technicalities so far as the beef premium is concerned. The number runs into many thousands and could be as high as 20 per cent. Dozens of the people who have come to me have been disqualified purely on technical grounds——
Brief, relevant and succinct questions, please.
Cards which have been incorrectly marked by veterinary surgeons, and not by farmers, are the cause of the problem. I ask the Minister to see to it that people who have been disqualified on such a technicality will be paid this premium. I have no sympathy whatsoever for a person who makes a fraudulent claim. I am talking here about genuine mistakes. Second, in relation to the payment of headage grants, may I ask the Minister if he will evolve a system whereby all headage payments will be paid in the relevant year? When I was Minister this was never an issue. We paid part of the payment in one year and the remainder the following year, but because the situation in relation to farm incomes is so critical there is a need to get money out in the relevant year. I ask the Minister to do this.
In reply to the final part of the question, I certainly will. As I said, it was one of the first questions that I addressed on being appointed. Despite the crucial importance of the Common Agricultural Policy and GATT, it is the headage and premium payments that farmers contact me about.
Only in latter years.
For the record, I should say that under the beef premium scheme 76,000, of the total of 90,000 applicants, will be paid during the next ten days. A total of 60,500 have already been paid while 16,000 will be paid during the next few days. This represents a figure of 84 per cent leaving just 14,000 which are under review. I have asked my staff in the Department in cases where innocent errors have been made to pay the grants and only in those cases where a deliberate attempt has been made to defraud should they initiate an investigation or carry out a review. That is what is happening at present.
Will the Minister convey that message to the Cork office?
I certainly will.
I should say that the time for dealing with priority questions is well and truly exhausted.
I thank you for your indulgence.
We will now deal with other questions. Question No. 7.
