Vol. 517 No. 6
185 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will expediate an application for the restoration of an early retirement pension for a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [10828/00]
Under the terms and conditions of the scheme of early retirement from farming, a transferor must cease all commercial farming activity definitively.
The person named entered the scheme on 7 November 1996. However, it came to light in the course of compliance inspections by my Department that he did not comply with the requirement to cease all commercial farming activity definitively, as he applied for premium grants on his lands and for area aid and supplied milk in the name of his wife.
My Department has written to him on a number of occasions advising him of the termination of his participation in the scheme and requesting repayment of all moneys paid to him since his entry to the scheme. On these occasions he was afforded an opportunity to appeal the decision but his submissions brought no new evidence to light. Accordingly, the decision must stand and the pension cannot be restored.
