Vol. 439 No. 7
81 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when installation aid will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that he has all the relevant qualifications.
Information recently furnished by the applicant is now being processed by Teagasc. If the application is found to be in order it should pass to my Department by the end of March.
Provided all conditions for payment are met, payments are normally made within six to eight weeks of receipt in the Department.
82 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will approve payment of an appeal lodged by a person (details supplied) in County Cork in respect of his beef premium application; and the number of cattle involved.
The person named applied for special beef premium on 29 bullocks on 2 March 1993. In accordance with European Union regulations, it is a condition of the scheme that the animals cannot be sold within two months from the date of lodging an application. On 16 April 1993, he sold 18 of the animals listed on his application and consequently was ineligible for payment on any of the animals applied on. I regret that the European Union rules governing this scheme preclude any reversal of this decision.
83 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the remaining 40 per cent grants which are with his Department since January 1993 for 45 animals for a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be paid; and when payment will issue.
The person named was paid a 60 per cent advance of his January-February 1993 special beef premium on 8 February 1994 but payment of the balance cannot be made to a particular applicant until all applications received from him-her in the course of 1993 have been processed. This is necessary to ensure compliance with European Union regulations covering in particular the ceiling on eligible animals and stocking density. The processing of November 1993 applications means that in most cases payment of the final 40 per cent of premium will not start before late March.
84 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the remaining 40 per cent grants will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and when payment will issue.
The application of the person named for grants under the January-February 1993 special beef premium has been processed and a 60 per cent advance was paid on 31 January 1994.
His applications for grants under the June and November 1993 special beef premium schemes are being processed at present and any advance payment due will be made shortly.
85 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason premia have not been paid to a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The person named applied for the January-February 1993 special beef premium on eight animals but sold them at a mart without having the cattle identity cards punched in contravention of the terms and conditions of the scheme. He is, therefore, not entitled to a premium on these animals.
He applied for the June 1993 special beef premium on two animals. The premium had already been paid on one of these animals and a cattle identity card was not submitted for the other animal. He was requested to submit this card on 2 March 1994 and when this is received his application will be processed.
A 60 per cent advance payment of his 1993 suckler cow premium as provided in EU regulations will be paid shortly.
He applied for ewe premium quota from the national reserve but did not indicate any particular category. His application is being processed under the category which provides for reserve quota to be allocated to producers whose applications for ewe premium in 1991 were for a lower number of ewes than normal due to exceptional circumstances. He has been requested to submit evidence to this effect and when he does, his application for reserve quota will be processed further.
86 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if a person (details supplied) in County Cork has been awarded a suckler cow quota in view of the extra evidence and documentation which he has submitted; and if he will be paid the 1992 and 1993 suckler quota premia.
The person named has now been allotted a suckler cow quota of 23 premium rights. The 1992 and 1993 suckler cow premia will be paid to him within the next few weeks.
87 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be paid the special beef premium due to him.
Processing of this person's application for special beef premium has been delayed as he did not submit a 1993 area aid application as required under the EU regulations. However, under the terms of a recent EU decision it may be possible to pay applications such as this person on up to 15 livestock units. My Department is examining whether this is possible in the case of the person named.
