Two officials from my Department visited Achill on 19 and 20 April 1999 to assist farmers in resolving difficulties with their 1998 area aid applications. In the majority of cases examined, a resolution of the problem was achieved and headage and premium payments resulted.
No assurances could be given by the officials in relation to 1999 applications, as it is at all times the responsibility of each applicant to complete and submit a correct application form. However, a number of farmers, who were experiencing difficulties with their 1999 application forms, requested and received assistance in completing certain aspects of the form. It should be noted that as the meeting was three days before the closing date for receipt of 1999 applications, most herdowners had already returned their forms and any problems in these forms have only become evident in the course of processing.
In Achill there are in the region of 260 herdowners claiming a variety of different commonages held in different share values. The commonages in Achill, as elsewhere, have been the source of serious difficulties in processing area aid applications this year, mainly because farmers have not provided adequate proof of entitlement to such commonages.
My Department recently advertised in local newspapers in a number of counties, including Mayo, urging farmers to supply the necessary proofs. My Department expects to resolve the bulk of these problems over the coming weeks.
