Michael Ring
Question:111 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be paid on the full 50.90 hectares as submitted on his 1999 area aid application. [17385/00]
Written Answers. - Grant Payments.
As stated in my previous replies to parliamentary questions on this matter the person named originally submitted an area aid application form on 23 April 1999 for 50.30 hectares. Subsequently he submitted an amendment form, which instructed the addition of two parcels of land and the deletion of four parcels. The application was amended as instructed and the total area claimed amounted to 29.24 hectares.
The area aid unit did not receive an application from the person named seeking that his original amendment request be ignored. Therefore the area for payment purposes determined in the case of his 1999 area aid application remains at 29.24 hectares.
Michael Ring
Question:112 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when a REPS appeal will be finalised for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and when this person will receive his fourth year payment. [17386/00]
The appeal from the person named against a 20% penalty applied to his third year REPS payment will be placed before the next meeting of the REPS appeals committee, which will take place in the next few weeks. The applicant will be contacted directly with the outcome of the appeal.
The application for fourth year payment is currently being processed in my Department's local farm development service office. A proportion of such applications are selected for inspection as part of the control procedures operated by my Department. If this case is not selected, payment will issue within the next ten working days. If it is selected, the application will be processed when the report of the inspection is received.
John Ellis
Question:113 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will arrange for the payment of a hardship grant by ERAD to a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim; and if he will have investigations made into the reason this grant has not been paid. [17388/00]
The most essential eligibility prerequisite attaching to the hardship grant scheme is that a completed application form ER97, must be submitted to the local district veterinary office by the applicant within a specified period. The onus is on the herdowner to apply.
As the person concerned did not fulfil this requirement, he is not eligible for any payment under the 1998-99 hardship grant scheme.
John Perry
Question:114 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if a 1999 headage payment will be made to a person (details supplied); the reason for the delay in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17389/00]
The person named applied on a total of 24 beef cows under the 1999 cattle headage scheme and the 1999 suckler cow premium scheme; 16 beef cows under the herd number quoted and eight beef cows under another herd number. Both herd numbers have been amalgamated on the grounds that the two herds involved were intermixing and the person named was informed by my Department of the decision to amalgamate the herd numbers on 2 December 1999.
Following an inspection of his herd on 13 July 1999, four animals were absent and one animal had no ear tag. The person named was advised of the position on the date of the inspection and was formally notified in writing on 2 December 1999 that no grants were payable on these animals and that the grants payable on the remaining animals would be subject to a reduced payment in accordance with the terms and conditions governing the schemes. The person named was given the opportunity to have this decision and the decision to amalgamate the two herd numbers reviewed by writing to my Department setting out any facts which he wished to put forward to support his case. While the person named requested a review on 6 January 2000 on the matter of the absent animals, he did not request any review regarding the amalgamation of the herd numbers. On the basis of the additional information provided my Department wrote to him on 20 April 2000 advising that sufficient proof had been provided to verify that three of the four animals absent at inspection were in fact present in his herd during the retention period but were not presented at the inspection. These three animals are now eligible for payment. However, insufficient evidence was given to verify the presence of animal tag number UFA172406 during the retention period nor was there sufficient evidence to verify that animal tag number UGA013517 was retagged by tag number UIA188294. No grants are payable on these two animals and the grants payable on the remaining 22 eligible animals will be subject to a reduction penalty. The person named was given the opportunity to appeal this decision by contacting the Department's independent headage and premia appeals unit. As no appeal has been lodged, payments under the 1999 cattle headage scheme and the 1999 suckler cow premium scheme will issue to the person named within the next two weeks.
Dan Neville
Question:115 Mr. Neville 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. [17427/00]
Processing of the application was completed on 4 May but a further issue was then identified during an administrative check.
The person named applied for the early retirement scheme on 31 August 1999 under a joint management arrangement with her husband. It is a condition of the scheme that participants must apply, on reaching their sixty-sixth birthday, to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs for both the contributory and non-contributory old age pension. This condition also applies to participants' partners in a joint management application. If a pension is awarded it must be offset against the farm retirement pension. Participants in the scheme are told of this condition when they join, and they are required to notify my Department if they or their partners in joint management are awarded an old age pension.
The applicant's husband reached the age of 66 on 9 February 1989 and was entitled to apply for an old age pension but my Department was not told whether he had done so or been awarded one. If he has been awarded the old age pension, it will have to be offset against payments under the early retirement scheme. Before these payments can commence, my Department is obliged to confirm the position on this issue. My Department wrote to the applicant on 23 May last asking for the necessary information.