Vol. 491 No. 6
113 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when the remaining 10 per cent payments under the 1997 special beef premium scheme will issue to farmers in view of the fact that the national quota usage for 1997 was to be determined at this stage. [12687/98]
The rate of payment of the balance of the 1997 special beef premium will be fixed within the next week and payments will commence immediately thereafter.
114 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when an appeal for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be finalised in view of the fact that it was lodged seven months ago. [12688/98]
The herdowner lodged an appeal on 2 December 1997 concerning his 1997 cattle headage application. Appeals are dealt with in the order in which they are received and require individual examination. It is expected that this appeal will be examined shortly and the herdowner will be notified of the outcome.
115 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be paid the outstanding balance of his 1997 beef premium. [12689/98]
The person concerned declared a forage area of 29.91 hectares on his 1997 area aid application. All maps available to the area aid unit of my Department have been digitised and validated against aerial photography and the area calculated is 17.00 hectares. This represents an overclaim in excess of 20 per cent.
As a result, my Department has no option under EU regulations but to impose a 100 per cent penalty on all area aid based livestock payments. A letter has issued to the person concerned stating this and affording a final opportunity to submit maps which were not submitted previously for land declared in 1997.
116 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a second year payment will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry under the rural environmental protection scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12690/98]
Following completion of his first year in the scheme on 31 December 1997, the Department requested the person in question to submit a second year application. The applicant has yet to do this.
117 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when a grant under the beef and cow scheme will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12691/98]
The person named will be paid his full entitlement under the 1997 beef cow headage scheme within the next two weeks.
118 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will be paid on the deseasonalisation slaughter premium which he is due for animals slaughtered earlier in 1998; and if a special beef premium payment can be reconsidered and approved for payment. [12692/98]
The person named applied for 14 animals under the deseasonalisation slaughter premium scheme in April 1998. One of the animals applied for, tagnumber YRA499108, was not paid special beef premium and, therefore, cannot be paid deseasonalisation slaughter premium. The remaining 13 animals have been processed and payment will issue over the coming week.
119 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if special beef premium payments will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Wexford; if the cards will be returned to him unpunched; and if his application will be put into an appropriate forage year to deal with the stocking density problems. [12693/98]
The person named made the following applications for special beef premium: 14 animals on the ten month special beef premium scheme on 16 April 1997 and 14 animals on the ten month special beef premium scheme on 5 December 1997. Under EU Regulations governing the special beef premium scheme, a stocking density limit of two livestock units per hectare applies based on the forage area declared on an applicant's area aid application. The person named declared 14.02 forage hectares on his area aid application and, therefore, was entitled to payment on a maximum of 28.04 reckonable livestock units. Reckonable livestock units consist of animals submitted by the applicant for special beef premium, suckler cow premium and ewe premium schemes coupled with notional livestock units derived from any milk quota held.
120 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will have arrangements made for the immediate payment of a REP scheme grant due to a person (details supplied) in County Longford; the reasons for the delay in this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12718/98]
This concerns a payment on additional land included in the person's REPS plan. In order to qualify for payment on the additional land, extensions of the land leases are required in respect of the existing land. A letter clarifying this will be sent to the person concerned without delay.
