Michael Creed
Question:138 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be paid his 1993 22-month beef premium.
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
The application of the person named for the January/ February 1993 special beef premium is being processed at present and any payment due will issue shortly.
John Browne
Question:139 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim will receive payment of an extensification grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Payment of extensification premium is ongoing. If the person named is eligible he will be paid in the near future.
Michael Lowry
Question:140 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the current position regarding an application made to his Department for beef premium by a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and when payment will issue to this person.
The applications of the person named for grants under the January/February and November 1993 special beef premium schemes were found to have an age inconsistency and invalid tag numbers at initial validation. If the problem is resolved following clarification from the herd owner his applications will be processed further and payments will then be made.
Michael Lowry
Question:141 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the current position regarding an application made to his Department for a suckler cow subsidy, ten month and 22-month beef premium by a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and when payment will issue to this person.
The person named has already been paid advances under the January/February and June 1993 special beef premium schemes. His applications are being processed further at present and any balances due will be paid shortly.
His 1993 suckler cow application is being processed at present and payment will be made in the near future.
Mary Coughlan
Question:142 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the cause of the delay in payment of a cattle headage grant to a person (details supplied) in County Donegal.
On 17 November 1993, the person named was paid £2,000 on 30 livestock units under the 1993 sheep headage scheme. He applied on 35 livestock units under the cattle headage scheme and payment should issue within the next two weeks.
Éamon Ó Cuív
Question:143 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when the suckler cow grants for 1993 will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Galway.
The application for the 1993 suckler cow premium of the person in question is being processed at present and any payment due will be made shortly.
Patrick D. Harte
Question:144 Mr. Harte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry his views on whether it is fair that a farmer applying for special beef premium on 43 cattle on a form which is complicated and difficult to complete, who makes a genuine mistake on three cattle, is regarded as having made a deliberate false declaration in view of the fact that he is directed by EU regulations which state that, where an applicant declares an age for an animal in the January/February special beef premium application which is inconsistent with the age declared by the same herd-owner in a previous application and which has the effect of making an otherwise ineligible animal on age grounds now eligible, such an applicant should be regarded as having made a deliberate false declaration and should not be paid any 1993 special beef premium and be excluded from the 1994 special beef premium scheme; and if he will advise the European Union that it is against the laws of natural justice to insist that when a farmer makes a mistake it is declared a deliberate false declaration whereas when a Government Department, including the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry makes a mistake it is considered a typographical error or acknowledged and deemed as a genuine mistake; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
John Connor
Question:145 Mr. Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry his views on whether it is fair that a farmer applying for special beef premium on 43 cattle on a form which is complicated and difficult to complete, and who makes a genuine mistake on three cattle, is regarded as having made a deliberate false declaration in view of the fact that he is directed by EU regulations which state, that where an applicant declares an age for an animal in the January/February special beef premium application which is inconsistent with the age declared by the same herdowner in a previous application and which has the effect of making an otherwise ineligible animal on age grounds now eligible, such an applicant should be regarded as having made a deliberate false declaration and should not be paid any 1993 special beef premium and be excluded from the 1994 special beef premium scheme; and if he will advise the European Union that it is against the laws of natural justice to insist that when a farmer makes a mistake it is declared a deliberate false declaration whereas when a Government Department, including the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry makes a mistake it is considered a typographical error or acknowledged and deemed as a genuine mistake; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose taking Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.
If the Deputies wish to cite a specific case rather than the theoretical one set out in these questions, I will be pleased to have it reviewed.
I have at all times sought to ensure that the administrative arrangements, including the penalty system, relating to the premium schemes are as reasonable as possible and that, in particular, genuine errors are treated differently from deliberate attempts to obtain payments irregularly.
Ivan Yates
Question:146 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if an application under the milk cessation scheme for a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will be approved; and, if so, when; and if he will expedite payment in this case.
It is assumed that the Deputy is referring to an application by the supplier concerned to her milk purchaser to participate in the 1994 milk quota restructuring scheme.
A milk quota surrendered under a restructuring scheme is made available to other suppliers within the same co-operative dairy area at a similar price to that paid to the outgoing producer and under rules laid down by me aimed at giving priority access to the available quota to smaller producers. I am currently in negotiation with the EU Commission with a view to obtaining approval for the use of Structural Funds to subsidise the purchase by certain categories of producers of a quota surrendered under the restructuring scheme. I will announce detailed arrangements for the sale of restructured quota as soon as these negotiations are finalised.
Declan Bree
Question:147 Mr. Bree asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when headage payments will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Sligo.
The person named was paid an advance of £321.36 under the 1993 cattle headage scheme on 3 December 1993. The final instalment of £214.24 due under this scheme was paid on 3 March 1994.
He was paid an advance of £189.82 under the 1993 suckler cow scheme on 4 December 1993. This application is being processed further at present and the balance due will be paid shortly.
Michael Creed
Question:148 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be paid his 1993 cattle headage grant.
My Department has no record of an application from the person named under the 1993 cattle headage scheme.
However, he did apply for premia under the 1993 suckler cow premium scheme. He was paid an advance under this scheme on 17 December and the balance on 5 May 1994.
Ivan Yates
Question:149 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will be awarded a suckler cow quota in accordance with that for which he has applied and for which number he has recently been inspected under the small-scale milk producers scheme.
The person named has already been allocated a quota of ten premium rights from the special reserve for small scale milk producers.
He has applied for an additional seven premium rights from the main 1993 national reserve.
The processing of these applications will commence within the next two weeks.
Enda Kenny
Question:150 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a beef premium payment will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo.
The person named applied for special beef premium on eight animals in January/February 1993. On 17 December 1993 he was paid an advance of £126.55 for four animals listed on this application and the balance of £84.37 was paid on 26 April 1994. He submitted the identity cards for the remaining four animals for stamping and punching at a later date and the payment for these four animals is being processed at present.
Enda Kenny
Question:151 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a cattle headage grant will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo.
The person named is not the registered owner of the herd number quoted. My Department has not received a 1993 cattle headage application under this herd number.
Enda Kenny
Question:152 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be granted an extra sheep quota.
The person named applied for an allocation of ewe premium quota from the national reserve under the category which provides for reserve quota to be allocated to producers who were paid premium on a lower number of ewes than normal in 1991 due to exceptional circumstances. However, he was paid premium on a higher number of ewes in 1991 than the average number of ewes on which he received payment in the years 1988, 1989 and 1990. Therefore, I regret that he does not qualify for an additional quota.
Enda Kenny
Question:153 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be paid his grant in respect of a slatted house under the FIP scheme.
This grant was paid on 3 June 1994.
Enda Kenny
Question:154 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a beef premium payment will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo.
The person named applied for special beef premium on 13 animals in January/February 1993. He was paid the full premium of £685.49 due on foot of this application on 23 May 1994. He also applied for special beef premium on three two-month animals in June 1993 and was paid the full premium in this case on 25 May 1994.
Theresa Ahearn
Question:155 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a June 1993 special beef premium will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The application of the person named for grants under the June 1993 special beef premium scheme was rejected at an initial validation check because of invalid tag numbers.
When satisfactory clarification is received from the herdowner his application will be processed further and any payment due will then issue.
Theresa Ahearn
Question:156 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when mulder quota compensation will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
No SLOM compensation claim has been received from the person in question.
Theresa Ahearn
Question:157 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when suckler cow grants will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary.
The person named has been deemed ineligible for grants under the 1992 suckler cow premium scheme as he did not maintain the number of cows on which he applied for premium for six months as required under the terms and conditions of the scheme. His application for grants under the 1993 suckler cow premium scheme is being processed at present and payment will be made shortly.
Michael Lowry
Question:158 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when payment of beef premium will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary who applied for this premium in January 1993; and the reason for the delay.
The application of the person named for grants under the January-February 1993 special beef premium scheme is being processed and payment will issue shortly. Delay in payment was due to the necessity to carry out appropriate checks to ensure the applicant was entitled to payment.
Michael Lowry
Question:159 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the current position regarding an application made for a suckler cow grant by a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and when payment will issue to him.
The application of the person named for 1993 suckler cow premium was lodged on 29 November 1993. If the application of the person named is found to be in order, after processing, payment will be made as soon as possible.