Vol. 517 No. 4
158 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the reason an EU farm retirement pension has not been paid to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10108/00]
The person named applied for an early retirement pension on 12 October 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. The applications on hands 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 coming 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.
