Michael Ring
Question:328 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason it takes over four months for an appeal to be decided on for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [9238/98]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
The herdowner lodged an appeal on 2 December 1997 concerning his 1997 cattle headage application. A total of 600 appeals were lodged in 1997. Appeals are dealt with in the order in which they are received and require individual examination. It is expected that this case will be examined shortly. The herdowner will be notified of the outcome.
Michael Ring
Question:329 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of herdowners waiting on a decision from the appeal unit of his Department including a breakdown of numbers on a county by county basis. [9239/98]
The following table gives a breakdown by county of the number of herdowners currently waiting on a decision from the appeals unit:
|
County |
Number on Hands |
|
Carlow |
7 |
|
Cavan |
33 |
|
Clare |
9 |
|
Cork |
30 |
|
Donegal |
20 |
|
Dublin |
4 |
|
Galway |
44 |
|
Kerry |
27 |
|
Kildare |
9 |
|
Kilkenny |
22 |
|
Laois |
11 |
|
Leitrim |
20 |
|
Limerick |
8 |
|
Longford |
11 |
|
Louth |
4 |
|
Mayo |
42 |
|
Meath |
17 |
|
Monaghan |
16 |
|
Offaly |
9 |
|
Roscommon |
25 |
|
Sligo |
13 |
|
Tipperary |
32 |
|
Waterford |
6 |
|
Westmeath |
19 |
|
Wexford |
19 |
|
Wicklow |
6 |
|
Total |
463 |
Michael Ring
Question:330 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the length of time, on average, it takes for a case to be decided in the appeals unit of his Department; and the plans, if any, he has to increase the staff levels in the unit thereby reducing the time it takes for a decision to issue. [9240/98]
The average length of time it took to deal with a case in the appeals unit, of those which were lodged in 1997 and have been concluded, was approximately five months. However, despite the satisfactory productivity of the unit, it can take longer to process some appeals.
I recognise the desirability of reducing this interval and my Department will keep the situation under review to ensure that available staff resources are used to maximum effect.
Michael Ring
Question:331 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be paid his installation aid grant in view of the fact he was promised this six weeks ago. [9241/98]
Having regard to the volume of work on hands there has been some unavoidable delay in processing the application in this case. Arrangements have been made to have this application processed promptly and if everything is found to be in order payment will be made in the near future.