Vol. 515 No. 6
122 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim will receive payment for the remainder of his ewes slaughtered under the de-stocking scheme. [6612/00]
Under the Dúchas compensation scheme for ewes culled under the 1998 ewe supplementary measure the rates of payment were fixed at £25 for the loss of each premium under the 1999 ewe premium scheme, £11 for the loss of each headage grant under the 1999 sheep headage scheme and £2 for each ewe culled. The maximum payable on any ewe was therefore £38.
A re-examination of my Department's records for the 1999 schemes shows that the person named was at the loss of 36 ewe premia but the initial payment made by Dúchas was in respect of 29 ewes only. Arrangements are being made with Dúchas to have a balancing payment issued as soon as possible.
123 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will reassess an application for farm development assistance for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; if he will take into account his circumstances and show some leniency as a consequence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6659/00]
To be eligible for aid under the scheme of installation aid, an applicant must be deemed to have at least one man work unit on the date of set up in farming or within two years of that date. Land farmed must be either owned or leased for a minimum period of five years from the date of set up. Where an applicant farms land on any other basis, a pro rata reduction is made in determining the man work unit number.
In this case, while certain lands were farmed by the applicant, these lands were neither owned nor leased by him. Consequently, the reduction calculation came into play in the determination of the man work units and resulted in the application being ineligible for aid.
While I appreciate the difficult circumstances, the terms and conditions of this co-funded scheme are based on EU legislation, are very specific in regard to requirements and have no provision for discretion.
