Vol. 520 No. 2
97 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will reinstate pension entitlements to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary in view of the fact that this person's farm retirement pension has been suspended since November, 19996, due to an error by his Department in not changing the area aid reference number, herd number and cattle passports, into the name of his son; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15628/00]
Under the terms and conditions of the scheme of early retirement from farming, a farmer who enters the scheme must undertake to cease all commercial farming definitively.
The person named was admitted to the scheme on 7 November 1996 and was paid from that date. My Department is not aware of any request from him to change the area aid reference number or cattle passports into the name of his son. His herd number was in joint names of his son and himself, but he made no application to have the name removed from it until August 1998. In the meantime he made application for the following payments.
On 31 December 1996 he applied in his own name for the ewe premium. On 6 May 1998 he applied in his own name for area aid. On 21 May 1998 he applied jointly with his son for the suckler cow premium. Between 3 November 1997 and 1 July 1998 he applied jointly with his son five times for the special beef premium.
