Jim Higgins
Question:228 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the delay in a headage payment to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [21455/97]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £107.80 in respect of 1997 sheep headage application; £1,046 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application.
Jim Higgins
Question:229 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the delay in a headage payment and a beef payment to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [21456/97]
In January 1997 the person named applied for one animal on his ten month special beef premium application and for 12 animals on his 22 month application. These applications have been processed and advance payments representing 60 per cent of entitlement will issue within the next ten days.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:230 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when suckler cow payments will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [21471/97]
The following payment has now issued to the person named: £2,187.58 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:231 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when area aid payments will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [21472/97]
The following payment has now issued to the person named: £3,028.96 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
The application under the beef cow scheme submitted by the person named is being processed and payment should issue shortly.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:232 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when area aid payments will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [21473/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £1,514.48 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application on 28 November 1997; £270.51 in respect of 1997 special beef premium (ten month) application on 1 December 1997; £54.10 in respect of 1997 special beef premium (22 month) application on 28 November 1997.
Payment under the 1997 cattle headage scheme will issue to the person named within the next week.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:233 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when area aid payments will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [21474/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £3,236.65 in respect of arable aid; £935.67 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application.
John Ellis
Question:234 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will make headage payment to a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim. [21512/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £617 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application; £336.55 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
John Ellis
Question:235 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will pay headage grants to a person (details supplied) in County Sligo. [21513/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £1,806 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application; £1,009.65 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
John Ellis
Question:236 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will pay headage grants due to a person (details supplied) in County Sligo. [21514/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £2,000 in respect of 1997 sheep headage application; £2,469 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application; £2,440 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
John Ellis
Question:237 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will make headage payment to a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim. [21515/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £883.20 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application; £673.10 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
John Ellis
Question:238 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will pay headage grant to a person (details supplied). [21516/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £428.36 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application; £336.55 in respect of 1997 suckler cow application.
John Ellis
Question:239 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will pay headage grants to a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim. [21517/97]
The area aid application of the person concerned has been randomly selected for inspection in accordance with EU regulations. The result of the inspection should be available within the next two weeks and payment will issue shortly thereafter subject to the inspection results being satisfactory.
John Ellis
Question:240 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will make headage payment to a person (details supplied). [21518/97]
The following payments have now issued to the person named: £2,000 in respect of 1997 sheep headage application; £2,010 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application.
Jim Higgins
Question:241 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason for the delay in a headage payment to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [21519/97]
The following payment has now issued to the person named: £788.60 in respect of 1997 cattle headage application.
Andrew Boylan
Question:242 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if all premia and extensification grants have been paid for 1996 in relation to a person (details supplied); if headage has been paid on all animals applied for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21520/97]
The person named is not the registered herdowner for the herd-number quoted.
However, the registered herdowner for the herd-number quoted has been paid the full amount due to him under the 1996 suckler cow premium and special beef premium schemes.
Article 4(h) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2066/92 states that a producer must have a stocking density of less than 1.4 LUs-hectare in order to qualify for extensification premium.
The stocking density of the holding of the registered herdowner for the herd-number quoted was calculated as follows for 1996:
|
Milk Quota at 1 April 1997 (14,916 gallons divided by 897, the national average yield per cow) |
16.61 LUs |
|
|
All animals applied on under the 1996 special beef premium scheme |
25 x 0.6 LUs each |
15.00 LUs |
|
All animals applied on under the 1996 suckler cow premium scheme |
7 x 1 LUs each |
7.00 LUs |
|
Total |
38.62 LUs |
The forage area declared on his 1996 area aid application was 27.51 hectares. Therefore the stocking density for the holding in question is 38.62 LUs divided by 27.51 hectares which equals 1.4 LUs-hectares. As this is not less than 1.4 LUs-hectares, as set out in the regulation, he does not qualify for 1996 extensification premium.
The 1996 cattle headage grant was paid on all animals but due to forage area limitations the payment was restricted from £1,500 to £1,418.76.
Bernard Allen
Question:243 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on the situation where thousands of farmers may not receive their headage payments before Christmas 1997 in view of the fact that cheques were due to be posted in early November 1997; and the steps, if any, he has taken to deal with the problems within his Department which are causing the delay. [21521/97]
In the period since 1 January 1997 close to £700 million has been paid to farmers under the various EU livestock and arable aid schemes of which over £444 million relates to payments made under the 1997 schemes. To date this year some 1.32 million payments have been made of which 798,037 relate to payments under 1997 schemes and the timing of these payments compares favourably with the position in 1996.
Payments under the 1997 disadvantaged areas headage schemes commenced on 28 September 1997 and to date over £90 million has been paid. Some 79 per cent of cattle headage-beef cow applicants and 83 per cent of sheep headage applicants have now been paid. Payments under the 1997 arable aid scheme commenced on 16 October (the earliest possible commencement date under EU regulations) and some £85 million was paid to 94 per cent of applicants within one week of commencement of payments. The current position is that over £89.5 has been paid to 99 per cent of applicants. Payments under the 1997 special beef premium and suckler cow premium commenced on 1 November and 3 November respectively. The EU regulations provide that payment cannot commence until 1 November and that only 60 per cent of entitlement can be paid. To date over £11.6 million has been paid under these schemes. Some 83 per cent of special beef premium applicants and 78 per cent of suckler cow applicants have now been paid.
It should be noted that this year priority was accorded to making payments under the 1997 arable aid scheme in view of the very severe harvest conditions which affected some parts of the country. It should also be noted that almost 6 per cent of 1997 cattle headage-beef cow and suckler cow cannot be processed for payment at local office level because the applications in question are under query with the farmers concerned.
Payments are continuing to issue to farmers under all premium and headage schemes.
While the requirements of the land parcel identification system which is fully operational in 1997 under EU rules have been a complicating factor in processing the various premium and headage applications this year, it is expected that most remaining eligible applicants will be paid in the very near future.