Vol. 503 No. 7
48 Ms Coughlan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the information, if any, available on the way in which his Department compares with those in other member states regarding the making of direct payments to farmers, specifically regarding the timing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10987/99]
The position is that Ireland's performance in delivering the direct payment schemes is among the best in the EU and compares very favourable with that of other member states. For most schemes Ireland rated between one and five among the 15 member states in terms of early payment in the 1997-98 scheme year. Ireland was first in the arable and ewe premium schemes, third in the suckler cow scheme and fifth in the special beef premium scheme.
I am satisfied that considerable progress has been made in keeping documentation as simple as possible for these schemes. Application forms and helpsheets have been simplified each year in consultation with the farming bodies. In a recent oral presentation to the all-party Oireachtas committee on the Strategic Management Initiative, the European Commission indicated that the forms used in Ireland were easier to understand than those used by other member states.
