Frank Crowley
Question:151 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when a decision will be made regarding an application for arable aid from a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [16676/95]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
This applicant's 1995 arable aid claim was processed on 9 November 1995 and will be paid shortly. He was paid 1994 arable aid on 17 October 1994.
The Deputy's query may refer, however, to a 1994 extensification premium problem raised by him in a letter to my Department. As the file was out for inspection no reply could issue until now. The reply issued indicates that the 13.50 hectares declared by the applicant for plot 1 in section D of his 1994 area aid application cannot be increased now to a greater area to qualify him for 1994 extensification premium — the 13.50 hectares declared for 1994 as actually used for forage area in this plot was the same area as that declared by the person named on his 1993 application.
Frank Crowley
Question:152 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when an application for arable aid will be approved and paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [16677/95]
The closing date for this submission of the combined area aid applications was 31 March 1995. EU regulations allowed the acceptance of late applications up to 20 April 1995 with a 1 per cent per working day penalty. In the case to which the Deputy is referring, a combined area aid application was lodged in my Department's office in Cork on 28 April 1995. Unfortunately, given that the application was received after the final closing date of 20 April 1995 I regret that no area aid payment can be made under the strict EU regulations governing these schemes.
Éamon Ó Cuív
Question:153 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry whether he intends extending the equine headage grant scheme to include donkeys in view of the decline of the population of donkeys and the efforts made by him to encourage traditional environmentally friendly farming. [16730/95]
I am not proposing to introduce headage grants on donkeys.