Michael Finucane
Question:124 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when a farm retirement pension will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [9238/00]
Written Answers. - Farm Retirement Scheme.
The person named applied for an early retirement pension on 31 August 1999. Because of the large volume of applications under the scheme which were received in the closing months of 1999, there is a significant backlog at present. The applications in hand are being processed by local office staff in conjunction with other priority work.
It is expected that the processing of this case will be completed in the next four weeks. I would point out that when the processing of an application is delayed in this way there is no financial loss to a retiring farmer. The operational procedures for the scheme specifically ensure that the date of receipt in the Department of a valid application determines the date from which payment is made.