Vol. 482 No. 3
135 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if special beef premium and area aid payments will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Wexford in view of the fact that further written documentation has been submitted explaining that the error on the area aid form was not in fact that of the applicants. [17805/97]
The persons named have been paid their 1996 and 1997 arable aid already. They have been paid their 1996 special beef premium also on foot of the area declared on their 1996 area aid application. It was their responsibility to ensure the accuracy of that application and the relevant EU regulation does not allow them to increase the area they claimed originally. The 1996 special beef premium paid already cannot be increased now, therefore.
The forage area element of the 1997 area aid application of the persons named is being processed at present to see if it can be cleared to allow payment of their 1997 special beef premium (the area declared this year being at least five hectares more than last year's declared forage area). If that area aid application is found to be in order on the forage side, the persons named should be paid their 1997 special beef premium within about four weeks.
